Traveling

April was a busy month for me. It’s been a while since I’ve taken a break from work & gone anywhere. But, as luck would have it, I was able to take a couple of trips last month.

People have told me “When you’re living in Asia, make sure you take the time to visit Rome.” ?!?!?!? Ok, I don’t think anyone has ever said that. But, I had the chance to meet up with Jed & Alison (living in Rome) and with Jay & Brian (who were visiting from the US), so I made the trip. It was a long flight – much longer than if I had gone from the US. I flew from Singapore to Kuala Lumpur, and then to Rome (flying over Tehran in the process).



Rome was really cool, and I’m glad that I got to experience it with some friends. We were on the move for the whole week – I felt like I saw everything there is to see in Rome (although, I’m sure there’s still tons left to see… I’ll have to go back).

We saw all of the standard Rome tourist sites: The Colosseum (very impressive, but much smaller than I had imagined), The Vatican, The Roman Forum, The Pantheon, Trevi Fountain, and more churches than I could count!

Jed & Alison’s apartment was just a few blocks from the Vatican. So, I visited there several times. St. Peters Basilica was awesome, of course. I never imagined how enormous it was going to be. There was incredible sculptures & artwork everywhere. I went to the top of the cupola and out on the roof (lots & lots of very narrow & twisting stairs) for a fantastic view of the Vatican and of Rome. I also went to the vault beneath the Basilica, where many of the Popes are buried. There’s also something one level beneath the vault, which is very heavily secured… I wonder what’s down there?

The Vatican Museums were huge. We spent a good part of a day there, and didn’t even come close to seeing everything. We made our way around, looking at tons of unbelievable statues & artwork. And, we also got to see a collection of the Pope-mobiles & other means of transportation that Popes over the years have used.
At the end of the tour, we made our way to the grand finale of the museums – the Rafael Rooms & the Sistine Chapel. It was great to see all the famous art – it lives up to the reputation. They don’t allow you to take photos in the Sistine Chapel, but I got around that – I bought postcards! :-D
(Actually, when you’re in the Sistine Chapel, the security is constantly telling people “No Photos”, and saying “Shhhhh”. I guess one guy broke the rules one too many times, because we saw security go through his camera & delete all the photos he took, and then throw him out).

The other churches we visited in Rome were just as spectacular. Jay put it best when he said that in any other city, any of the churches that we saw would have been the centerpiece of that city. The artwork & the sculptures at all of the churches were great. I really liked the artwork on the ceilings of many of the churches – which makes you feel like you’re looking upwards into heaven.


One of the eeriest churches that we visited was Santa Maria della Concezione. The walls of the church are decorated with the remains of thousands of Capuchin Monks. Some walls are covered with piles of sculls, and others have archways made out of bones. There is also artwork on the ceilings made out of skulls, vertebrae, and other bones. And, there are even a few bodies that appear to be mummified.

The food in Rome was wonderful. I had fantastic pastas, pizzas, wines, espressos, and some terrific gelato. And, I resisted the pressure to go out for Chinese. :-P
Most of the restaurants that we ate at were much smaller, intimate ones. They all make their own pasta, and sometimes can’t accommodate several different types of pasta in a single order. When we inadvertently ordered 4 different kinds, the waiter responded with an exasperated “Wow!”, and then walked away. :-) Fortunately we all got our orders.

On my last day in Italy, we took the train down to Pompei. It was really interesting to see the ruins of the city, and somber to see the remains of the people that were killed by Mount Vesuvius.


"A Holiday in Cambodia"

Less than a week after getting back from Italy, I was getting on a plane again – heading up to Siem Reap, Cambodia. I’ve been meaning to see Angkor Wat for some time, and I wanted to go before the rainy season started.

It was a fantastic trip! The temples of Angkor are unbelievable. I went to more than 15 temples, but ones that stood out were Angkor Wat, Angkor Thom, and Ta Prohm.

Angkor Wat is probably the most famous – the one that’s shown the most in pictures of the Area.


Angkor Thom is the biggest (over 9 sq km), with giant faces on the gates at the entrance, and on 37 towers at the Bayon temple in the middle.


Ta Prohm is a temple that is being consumed by the forest. Trees are now growing over & through the temple. Ta Prohm is also recently famous because it’s where the movie Tomb Raider was filmed.



Some of the temples are pretty treacherous! They were definitely built without safety in mind. The stairs on some are very very steep (over 50 degrees), and they go up to 4-5 stories high. But, there are fantastic views when you get to the top. There are signs that say ‘climb at your own risk’. Apparently a woman fell down a year or so ago, and had to be airlifted to Bangkok.

There are cute little kids everywhere around the temples – all trying to sell things, from bracelets to guide books, to t-shirts, etc… It’s amazing how good their English is, and how persistent they are. “Mr., will you buy my bracelet for a dollar?” If you say no, you will either hear “Whyyyyyy?” or “Ok, after you see the temple, then you come back & buy from me, ok?” I did a pretty good job of resisting, but still came back with a few things. One girl managed to sell me 10 postcards when she demonstrated that she could count out 10 of them in English, Spanish, German, and a 4th language.


My good deed of the day was when I fixed this girl’s bike. The wheel had come off, and she didn’t know how to fix it. She didn’t speak any English, but I got a big smile out of her when I put it back on.

I also went to the landmine museum, which was really sobering. There are millions of landmines around Cambodia, from the Pol Pot regime in the 70s and when Vietnam invaded in the 80s. They’re still actively clearing mines. Siem Reap has been cleared, but rural Cambodia still has lots of mines. One of the temples that I visited was next to a field that had only been cleared a few months ago.

On my last day, I went out to a floating village on Tonle Sap (the giant lake that stretches from Siem Reap, all the way to Phnom Pehn). It’s one of many fishing villages on the lake, and everyone lives on boats. It’s also turned into a tourist spot – there are a few restaurants on boats out there now.
It was really interesting to see how the people lived, and how they caught fish (with very elaborate bamboo traps). All the kids in the village would come over in little boats, or in barrels that had been cut in half. Some were selling bananas or drinks. Others had snakes that they would show, in exchange for money. Others just asked for a dollar.

The entire trip was a lot of fun. The people were really nice; the sights were very interesting; it was easy (getting there, getting around, communicating, etc…); and despite it being such a tourist destination – I really didn’t feel hassled while I was there. I’ll definitely go back, and anyone that has the chance should definitely see it.

Here are some pictures from my trips.
Italy
Cambodia