Blog of the Little Bonsai

Personal Blog of Steve Baumber

I'm trying a second post as my blog seems to be stuck on an older one. I smell server trouble at Telus... I also have to delete a few pictures from my website to make room for the next four months - I'll leave the text of the blogs up, but have one last look at the (older) photos! The fellow I mentioned yesterday Aki Ra, has a website about his museum and the disabled children he looks after. posted by Steve @ 6:50 PM	2.21.2006
I had an email saying that I had to Blog or lose a nut. Well, Dave A, the reason I haven't been blogging is that I've been busy doing something you would give your left nut to do. Yes indeedy, we've been exploring the ruins of Angkor Wat, last seen in "Tomb Raider", and every inch Indiana Jones' wet dream (Dave also asked for more sexual references, but I have to keep it 'PG', so that's it Dave). Of course, it's no coincidence that I have been subtly dragging Rosemary to famous movie sites all over Greater Asia. She thinks we're "traveling", but I digress. Dave also wanted no more about torture, which I agree is a bit heavy for my fun-loving blog, so instead I'll start this blog with mines (and not the ones Dave likes to sell stocks for on e-bay). As I mentioned before, Cambodia, Laos, and Vietnam are positively littered with mines manufactured by several different countries, but mainly the US, China, and Russia. There is a fellow named Aki Ra who has a "museum" near Siem Reap, several tin-roof shacks by the river, in which he displays a few of the gems that he's dug up in the surrounding countryside. It is more of an awareness centre, as he is a one-man de-mining team, armed with the experience he gained having been a forced conscript of two different armies since he was thirteen, and a sharp stick to probe the ground in front of his feet. The picture shows only a few of the plastic antipersonelle mines he's defused, which are lovely little items designed to maim, not kill. The killing mines, like the US-made claymores or bouncing betties, are filled with lead shot that rip people apart. If you've never held a defused bouncing betty or Vietnamese-made grenade, it's frightening and sickening. And there are millions of these in this area, and it's up to the smiling folks in Cambodia to clean up the mess of one army after another planting them in the countryside. Yeesh. Angkor Wat is everything that the hype makes up to be. What they don't tell you is that "Angkor Wat" is really a euphemism for ruins that are scattered over a large area of what used to be several "capitals" during the history of this corner of Asia. The cultural roots many places from Vietnam to Thailand started here, and the ruins speak of an incredible artistry and architectural heritage. Theya re also very cool and, being a child of the eighties, I'm having to fight my impulse to lobby for the Cambodian government to allow a great big game of Dungeons & Dragons here. Dave, Ryan and Mark are in for sure, and Geoff could do the SPFX - maybe for Ryan's stag? We have been bicycling and tuk-tuking around trying to see as many of the sites as possible without becoming numb to it all. It's hard to not just to go in and look for the good picture, and forget about the who, when and why of each place, especially as the sun rinses every last effort out of your body. Of course, many places are also overrun by tour buses which disgorge mass after mass of sunhat-wearing, digital camera toting humanity... oh wait that's us minus the bus. But every now and then you stumble into a peaceful area, sit yourself down on the warm stones in the shade, and for five or ten minutes, if the light is just right, history lives and breathes right in front of you . posted by Steve @ 4:25 AM
Our trip through the south was idyllic, and it's hard to be any less obvious than that. We are sold on Cambodia, and if anyone has any need for a two week beach holiday with a little culture thrown in, Rosemary would be happy to send you an itinerary! We left Sihanoukville and headed to Kampot, a quieter town along the Prek Kampong river. The old Bokor hill station, abandoned now for thirty years, was really only worth it for the great vegetable curry lunch (with the inevitable baguette) and the jarring, dusty, hot jeep ride up the mountain. It's actually not a jeep, but a Toyota truck with rudimentary benches in the back, and it is an ass-numbing, neck-burning experience. The trip ended with a beautiful sunset drift down the Tonle Sap river sipping Angkor beer. On the trip we met two great French Canadians, Steve and Valerie, who have been our traveling buddies for the past four days. We traveled from Kampot to Kep, and then caught a boat to Koh Tansay, or Rabbit Island. I'm not sure why it's called Rabbit Island, as it has mainly dogs and people on it. But for those of you wondering how we spent Valentine's Day (hello Anita)... We awoke on the morning of February 14 in a small bamboo hut about 100m from the Gulf of Thailand. We lazed on the mostly deserted beach, had fresh fish, crab, and rice for lunch, and then caught a slow boat back to the mainland. That evening we sat on the deck of an outdoor restaurant at a beautiful hill-side resort in Kep, sipping chilled Angkor beer and watching the sun set over the distant line of the ocean. Then, as a delicious meal was served, the full moon rose over the hill behind us. We retired to our room, where Rosemary rested in a hammock and I played guitar until the bug bites chased us under our mosquito net. Everybody say "ahhhh". We're now back in Phnom Penh, doing laundry and helping Valerie and Steve spend their money shopping before they head to Thailand tomorrow. Luckily, it is not goodbye, as we are hoping to see them again in Laos or northern Vietnam! posted by Steve @ 2:52 AM	2.16.2006
Cambodia is less than we expected. Less noise, less traffic, less pollution, less (visible) poverty, less hassling; in short we love it! Our first day in Phnom Penh was spent in a daze wandering around the southern part of the city marveling at the easygoing flow of traffic, the quiet put-put of the motos (as opposed to the two-stroke buzzing elsewhere in Asia), and the friendliness of the people. Everybody smiles! Cambodia is of course not all smiles, and despite 30 years having passed since the Khmere Rouge were in power, the scars of that time are still a big part of the social fabric. Across from the first guest house we stayed at in Phnom Penh was the Toul Sleng Genocide Museum, a high school converted into a torture prison by Pol Pot's regime. The entire set of buildings and grounds has been turned into a museum/memorial. This is a picture of one of the torture beds still located in the original room it was found. On the wall of the room is a large photograph of the body and the bed as it was found when the prison was "liberated", but the guards had fled the bodies and attrocities. The leg shackles are visible, a length of rebar with two u-bolts to hold the ankles. It is a horrific place full of ghosts and sobering photographs of inmates, torture methods, and suffering. There is a certain morbidity to taking pictures there, and both taking this picture and posting it on my blog weren't done without some thought about whether it was "appropriate". But fundementally this is what this place is about. It's about making what occurred present in our minds, and not pushed into the past or to the limit of what's polite discourse. So long as it and it's exhibits exist, and so long as pictures are distributed and people bear witness to places such as this, the events will be difficult to erase. Many prosecutions have yet to take place, and most of the architects of Pol Pot's "Year Zero" campaign are now dead. Without these memorials it would be easy for progress to squeeze out such an unpleasant time. Will such memorials exist for Rawanda, or Serbia, or Sudan, or East Timor? It was a quiet day and a restless night for both of us after experiencing the museum. We are now very conscious of the fact that anyone above the age of thirty would have some memory of that time, and that any Cambodian 40 or older was either a refugee, a prisoner or a combatant from that time. The infamous killing fields, where at least 2 million people were "destroyed" are spread throughout Cambodia, and these areas will surely cross our travels. Getting our visas to Loas was very easy, and so we decided to get out of the city and get the traveling underway. If you're thinking of a beach holiday, may we make a suggestion? We are currently in the south of Cambodia at Sihanoukville, Cambodia's beach resort central. It's very similar to Thai beaches, in that the guest houses and beach front bars and restaurants cater to foreigners. The subtle difference is the involvement of the Cambodian people, and the relaxed presence of the beach hawkers. And that irrepressable Cambodian grin! We took a boat trip out to Bamboo Island yesterday, and the snorkeling would have been fantastic if we had brought our own gear. Sadly, the included equipment was in a pretty sorry state and between leaky seals and clouded lenses it was hard to see the fish and corals (and the hundreds of black spiny sea urchins itching to poke you). However, the grilled baracuda on the beach made up for it. Poverty here is similar to Nepal in that it exists, but there is a rural "purity" where the poor have not been left behind by their communities. The desperate conditions of the children, women and men in the streets of Delhi were more shocking than what we've experienced here so far, but I suspect that southern Cambodia is more affluent than the Northern reaches. Still, as we ate our $3US meal last night at a beach-side restaurant, who do you give to? The fellows crab walking their way through the sand past your table with their hats out, most of one or both legs missing? The mothers with babies on their hips? Children selling you their finger paintings? It's often overwhelming, leaving you with nothing to answer as the sun goes down. I appreciate that this blog is more somber than previous ones, a product of grasping at Cambodia's past and our privelage of traveling. However, we are truly loving our time here, and are looking forward to seeing more of the country. Next is Kampot and Bokor National Park, but with landmines and bombis here (and in Laos) we won't take too many short cuts through the woods. posted by Steve @ 9:32 PM	2.09.2006
One cheap flight to Cambodia, coming up! I've said it before, I'll say it again, Singapore is Asia Light! I don't think that I've ever appreciated Singapore like the past few days. The MRT (the Singapore Tube) is futuristic, the malls endless, service is impeccable without expecting an extra 20 ruppees before you escape, and everyone is helpful. But around the edges are all the SE Asia bits, like the menu at a local eatery: Yes, nothing like a little Braised Pig's Trotter with a side of stomach. Don't worry, the intestine is served next door (for those who haven't noticed, you can click on the picture for a bigger version). We've been through China Town, Little India, Orchard Road (shopping, shopping, shopping), hiked up Mt. Faber to see the view of the harbour, ridden double-decker busses and the aforementioned MRT, done banking, adjusted plane tickets, enjoyed free internet, and even took in a movie this evening (Memoirs of a Geisha). You can even drink the water straight from the tap. One could live here, methinks. Still, our trip is to see the bits we haven't seen, and a flight on Jetstar Asia was too good to be true, making Phnom Penh only a couple of hours away tomorrow morning. I hear they nibble on tarantulas up there... posted by Steve @ 6:32 AM	2.05.2006
This will be our last post from India, and I thought the India gate in Delhi a good sunset image. India definitely grew on us as everyone said it would. Still, we are ready to move on and be surrounded by new sights, languages and transportation challenges. Rosemary is looking forward to surrounding herself with a lot of fresh fruit. The rich Indian diet has made us a little soft in the middle, so we need an infusion of fat-free Singapore. Bring on the seafood and mangosteens! But as promised, here is the Taj Mahal in the misty early Agra morning. Yes, it was worth it, as it just can't be experienced without standing at it's feet. Delhi was tiring to get around and we never paid the same amount twice to an autorickshaw, but sometimes haggling was too much to bear. There just isn't a lot of difference between 50 ruppees and 60 ruppees for us. Sorry if I'm wrecking the local economy. Anyway, we promised ourselves some shopping and we delivered. I had wanted to buy some bulk tea since seeing the export shops lining the street in Kolkatta. So it must have been divine providence that led us to the Calcutta Tea Company! Squint and you can see Rosemary carefully overseeing the weighing and packaging... We spent yesterday at the National Museum, which was a very good way to end our time. The exhibits had far more personal meaning when we could relate them to the many things we've seen here, and the many different ways people live here. India is a land of extremes and opposites coexisiting. How's that for a summary? We'll need time to digest what we've experienced here, but for now goodbye India and hello SE Asia! posted by Steve @ 12:35 AM	2.02.2006