August 25, 2007

Prasat Preah Viheat (CAMBODIA)

Atop Prasat Preah Vihear and Dirt-Biking to Thailand

Any hope we had of sleeping in this morning was dashed by an overly rambunctious rooster. Separated by only a mosquito net and see-through wooden paneling, the persistent cock-a-doodle-doos reminded me of what Joe Pesci endured in the movie My Cousin Vinny. Only when it happens to you it is far less funny.

Also, the water bucket shower didn't feel any better this morning than it did last night, but we were grateful to find hot coffee for breakfast. Even though the sugar jar was crawling with ants, Jo wasn't deterred from shoveling a copious amount into her coffee - sugar, not ants, that is. Well, probably a few ants as well now that I think about it.

After breakfast we had to sort our transport away from Prasat Preah Vihear and cross the border into Thailand. This was a tricky issue as no transport heads in the necessary direction, and the roads were equally as uncompromising as yesterday. We ended up negotiating with the Khmer man who brought us up the mountain, Jai, as he and a friend (the local police officer) agreed to drive us on the back of their motorbikes. The $20/person charge was more than we wanted to pay, but we didn't have any choice and so we agreed to leave at around noon.

In the mean time, we worked our way back up the temples for more exploring. I have not mentioned this yet, but this part of Cambodia is the most heavily land-mined area in the world. There is literally no margin for error here and we were repeatedly warned - by signs and by thoughtful locals - not to leave the trodden path for any reason. While looking out for landmines makes it hard to be at ease, we both found ourselves lost in the graveyard of stones as we explored the neglected temples. Once more we had the entire complex to ourselves as hardly anyone makes it out this far, and any who do come from the Thailand side.

Speaking of the Thailand, Prasat Preah Vihear is located on disputed territory that is claimed by both Cambodia and Thailand. While the Cambodians have traditionally maintained the upper-hand in controlling the area, there is obvious animosity between the two sides. Historically, Cambodians feel that both the Vietnamese and Thais have encroached on their lands and are always trying to take them over. The reason I mention all this is because we passed a sign that read "I have pride to be born as Khmer", there are large guns pointing at Thailand (left-over from God knows when), and several times we were asked "Cambodia or Thailand?" - to which our answer was always "CAMBODIA!"

We were fortunate in that the weather was fine today and the views from the mountaintop were amazing. The pictures shown to the left and right sums up how rewarding the views were. Jo was relaxed looking off into the distance while I couldn't resist throwing my legs over the side for one of those childish "look at what I did" photos.

We climbed back the mountain and gathered our belongings in time to hop on the back of the motorbikes for the westerly ride across Cambodia. I had forgotten just how treacherous the mountain part of the journey was, and I was hanging on for dear life as Jai held the brakes the whole way down. Jai easily weighs over 300lbs so I was really struggling to wrap my arms around him. Fortunately, he speaks great English and most of the ride he was telling me jokes (most are too crude to repeat).

There wasn't much drama for the first couple of hours, but as we were passing some particularly tricky muddy areas the excitement grew. Jo had just finished clearing a rough spot and I gave a holler as she was sprayed with mud. Then, as she turned around to flick me the bird I felt Jai give a tremble and our motorbike wavered. He told me to jump off, which I instinctively did anyway.

The second I took my weight off the motorbike Jai lost his balance and all 300+lbs of him toppled into a puddle of muddy water. I could barely control my laughter as I pulled the motorbike off him and helped him find his lost sandal in the muck - which basically entailed him digging around with one foot in the mud. Fortunately, Jai had an easy-going personality and he was laughing just as hard as I was about the whole thing. From there on out, Jo and I both got off the motorbikes every time we passed a trouble spot. In retrospect, I don't think it mattered much whether we fell in because we were already caked in dirt from the roads and the dust of the motorbikes.

At one point we stopped at a small watering hole (I don't know what else I could call it) so Jai could properly clean himself. There was a group of five girls swimming in the water, and Jai assured me this was the closest they had ever come to a white foreigner. They were giggling uncontrollably, so I began blowing kisses to them and smiling. This only made them laugh harder, and it lightened the mood with Jai.

As the afternoon wore on and we approached our fourth consecutive hour on the motorbikes Jo and I began tiring of the journey. This was really rough going with the sun beating down on us, the dust always in our faces, and the constant bouncing of the motorbikes on roads destroyed by the rainy season. Despite all this, the thing I remember most is how Jo never complained and simply kept on going. I have known she was special for quite some time now, but it was at times like these - when both of us should be at our worst - that she really made me appreciate how luck I was.

We reached the Thai border at 5:15pm and both of us were covered in dirt and dead tired after the hellish journeys we endured over the past two days. As we posed for a group picture, Jai told us no other foreigner has attempted this route in the past month and a half (which dates back to before the monsoon rains started). We were too tired to pride ourselves on such things as our day was still far from over - we still had to cross the border into Thailand and find a place (and a city) to sleep for the night.

The border crossing was entirely desolate, and we were extremely lucky we didn't get stranded for the night. A friendly Thai woman approached us (she was there helping her husband renew a visa) and offered to give us a lift to the nearest Thai city, Ubon Ratchathani, which was still two hours away.

En route, we stopped at a small cafe on the side of the road for a Thai dinner. Both Jo and I were too tired to think as we wandered like zombies to a table beside a beautiful lake. The Thai woman did all the ordering and allowed us to join her family for dinner. We did our best to eat the first real meal of the day, but both of us felt bad we weren't in better spirits so we could enjoy the great Thai food. While we ate, we watched an odd display of water sports on the lake. The woman's two boys swam out to box each other on the lake while three different fan-gliders buzzed about. It was really a surreal way to end the day, especially considering we started atop a mountain in Cambodia.

Jo and I ended up getting dropped off on the side of the road where the woman assured us we could catch a 9pm bus to Ubon Ratchathani. She refused to take any money from us and we were only able to pay the driver for the ride. After all we had been through this was the sort of kind act that will bring anyone's spirits up, and it certainly did so for us. When the local Thai bus picked us up we threw our bags in storage and spent two hours sitting in the aisle. When we finally reached the bus stop in Ubon Ratchathani it was raining and pitch dark. We taxied to the nearest hotel, and when we were taken to an ultra posh place we had to walk another block to find a cheapie to crash in for the night.

Finally, at nearly midnight, we had a place to shower, lie down, and most importantly sleep.