A Close Shave in Cambodia
Hello Everyone,
We were REALLY sorry to say goodbye to Japan and to our friend Shin. The three weeks we spent in his country were some of the best on the trip. The whole experience was full of surprises and delightful moments that we're already talking about our return visit. However we must keep moving around the earth. We're almost exactly half way through the trip and we're now back in Bangkok. We're staying for five days en-route to Hong Kong, where we'll stay until the 31st when we depart for Perth, Western Australia. We spent the last four days in Siem Reap, Cambodia. Our principle reason for visiting this small town was to visit the Angkor temple complex. A much anticipated highlight of our trip that we almost didn't get to see, (due to our side-step to Japan), we were afraid the Angkor experience might not live up to all the wonderful descriptions that people had given us along the way. How wrong could we have been?
The initial trip into the temple complex, (covering an area of around 40sq km) led us to Phnom Bakheng, a hill temple over-looking dense forest, (the forest reminded me of Planet Endor from The Return of the Jedi), and gave us our first view of Angkor Wat, the largest of all the Angkor Temples. The whole experience was a bit of a free for all, with tourists of all nationalities clambering up the steep steps to get the best seat for the sunset. The experience wasn't completely ruined by the camera wielding hoards but it did make us wonder if all the temples would have to be seen in the same way. Luckily this wasn't the case and over the next three days, Jo and I travelled by tuk-tuk or bicycle to see sights, which at times were, almost too amazing for words. Some temples were engulfed by tree roots, others were proudly complete and surrounded by neatly trimmed lawns. One notable occasion on our visit was when Jo and I visited Angkor Wat. We made our way inwards and upwards into the centre of the building, eventually having to ascend some absurdly steep steps to get to the highest point. The view from the top was really moving and I soon lost it, I had tears in my eyes looking out over the beautiful sight of the massive temple, surrounding grounds and beyond to a deciduous forest periodically dotted with ball-shaped palm trees. It must have been the heat. The heat might have also been responsible for Jo getting vertigo and not wanting to go back down! It had seemed an easy climb and earlier Jo had whizzed up the fifty or so steps with no problems. Tentatively, Jo began her descent. She gripped the metal hand rail, that was hot in the mid-day sun, and slowly joined me in climbing back down. Jo was REALLY brave and as we walked away from the ordeal she also began to cry. In different ways, the whole experience had been quite over-whelming for both of us. The intensity of the days emotions were further amplified by the strange sight of a circular rainbow around the sun. It was so clear and seemed particularly odd as it wasn't raining.
On this trip, the normally pedestrian past-time of getting a hair cut, has been a great way to get come into contact with indigenous peoples. I've had my barnet cut in India, Malaysia and most recently Cambodia. The Cambodian trim proved to be the best so far and provided me with one of the best experiences to date. Whilst cycling one morning in Siem Reap, (Jo was taking a nap), I happened upon a tiny barber's shop. Overlooking a muddy football field and raised a few feet off the ground, the shop was basically a shack with no electricity, a corrugated iron roof and matted hair was piled high under the red vinyl chair. The barber motioned me into the hut with the scissors that he was using to cut a young boys hair. He pulled up a pink, plastic garden chair and told me to sit down. The passing locals stared at me, some nearly falling of their bikes. I seemed to be a real oddity. Behind the mask the barber wore, I could tell he was wearing a huge smile. A woman, with a small child perched on her hip, appeared from behind the sheet hanging at the rear of the shop. The barber and the woman chatted to each other and were obviously surprised that I wanted my hair cut. The boy having his hair cut seemed very patient as the barber chatted to me and the woman, (who turned out to be his wife). He didn't move as the barber went onto finish the job with a cut-throat razor. I was beginning to regret my haircut decision but I watched as the man used the razor to skillfully shave the edge of the boys hair. More surprising, was the boy having the edges of his eyebrows shaved. I began to really regret my decision now.
It wasn't long before I was in the hot seat, dirty pink towel around my neck, hands gripping the chairs arms. Young children sat and looked on as the barber used hand shears, swiftly removing layers of hair from my head. Periodically, the barber spoke to me in Khmer I couldn't understand a word he said. Each of us verbally communicated enjoyment and laughed at the fact that neither of us could understand the others' language. The hair was coming off in clean clumps and the inevitable cut-throat was beginning to bother me. In the mirror, I could see the barber sharpening his blade. He lowered the chair with a jolt and I was exposed from the neck up. Now, I know the dangers of using a traditional razor. I am aware of the dangers of bacterial infection. However it seemed out of place to say anything and I somehow trusted the barber to perform a clean job. He quickly shaved my neck and before I knew it, he was around the front going at my brow. He noisily scraped the shiny blade over my face. At this point, I was getting worried but managed to keep it together whilst he finished the job. As I lay there, I wondered how it might look but was beginning to worry more about Jo taking the piss. It wasn't long before I was safely shaking hands with the barber. He seemed thrilled at having cut my hair and I was thrilled at not having being cut. I took a photo of him, his wife and his grand-children. The barber couldn't believe the tiny digital images on the rear of our camera. His obvious delight spurred me into getting the images printed the next day. You should have seen the smiles and heard the laughter when Jo and I returned with the photos, the day before we left Cambodia. A small crowd of local kids soon gathered and we were swallowed up in their delight. Jo was handed the baby grand-daughter and my head hurt from grinning so much at the sight of it all. A wonderful way to finish in Cambodia.
I'll attempt to send some photos soon.
xgregandjox
Friday, July 23, 2004
Monday, July 05, 2004
Hi From Kyoto,
We arrived here on Friday of last week, the only way you can travel from Tokyo to Kyoto in just over 2hrs, is on the Bullet train! The journey would have taken 8hrs by bus, so we treated ourselves to the experience as a joint birthday present. It was everything we thought it would be. The train itself, though white, clean and emblazened with the words, AMBITIOUS JAPAN, was ever so slightly ugly. It's nose reminded me of a duck-billed platypus, but it looked aerodynamic and sleek. We felt a bit out of place sat in our shorts, flip-flops and had difficulty hiding our excitement for the anticipated experience. A young Japanese man arrived and sat across the aisle form us. Firstly he was uncommonly bald. From his ears hung huge silver looped rings and he was wearing an authentic vintage Hawaiian shirt, these all went well with his bright red cowboy boots,( we ceased to feel so out of place). The train slid out of Tokyo Station on rails that are welded together. This negates the passenger of the usual clackety-clack sound and the rocking motion of a regular train. It also meant we had difficulty gauging our speed. But you only had to look out the window at the Japanese landscape whooshing by to know that we were going BLOODY FAST!!
Apart from the two thousand or so temples and the traditional elements of Japanese culture evident in the city, I have particularly enjoyed the shopping in Kyoto. Some shops seem to be an exentsion of their owners' personality. Like walking into someones head, you're faced with clothes being hung next to stuffed toys, novelties and skateboards. A shop might exclusively devote it's floorspace to Canadian branded products or a more specific and bizarre example, the American band 'the Grateful Dead' . I've never seen anything like it. It makes shopping a pleasure. it makes you want to buy something because you feel you're buying somebody's art. I'm just itching to buy a pair of genuine carpenters jeans, made only in Vancouver. Not sure what that says about me or the person selling them.
Finally, we've witnessed an interesting phenomenon during our stay, here in Japan. There are many homeless people on the streets and sleeping in the parks of Tokyo and Kyoto. We've seen remarkable make-shift houses, mostly covered with blue tarpaulin, alongside rivers and roads here. They house people, who generally appear to be middle aged, I guess they are the 'by-product' of a rich and prosperous working culture going through recession and change. The strangest development, I think the homeless people have brought about is, the sale on the streets of, the BIG ISSUE. The homeless seem to be ignored by the population at large. They appear to be an embaressment. The introduction of the Big Issue might help to change this. But seriously, the homeless people are different to those we've experienced elsewhere in the world. No-one has ever asked us for money here and we've seen no-one begging. Honor and self respect still seem intrinsic to being Japanese.
xgregandjox
We arrived here on Friday of last week, the only way you can travel from Tokyo to Kyoto in just over 2hrs, is on the Bullet train! The journey would have taken 8hrs by bus, so we treated ourselves to the experience as a joint birthday present. It was everything we thought it would be. The train itself, though white, clean and emblazened with the words, AMBITIOUS JAPAN, was ever so slightly ugly. It's nose reminded me of a duck-billed platypus, but it looked aerodynamic and sleek. We felt a bit out of place sat in our shorts, flip-flops and had difficulty hiding our excitement for the anticipated experience. A young Japanese man arrived and sat across the aisle form us. Firstly he was uncommonly bald. From his ears hung huge silver looped rings and he was wearing an authentic vintage Hawaiian shirt, these all went well with his bright red cowboy boots,( we ceased to feel so out of place). The train slid out of Tokyo Station on rails that are welded together. This negates the passenger of the usual clackety-clack sound and the rocking motion of a regular train. It also meant we had difficulty gauging our speed. But you only had to look out the window at the Japanese landscape whooshing by to know that we were going BLOODY FAST!!
Apart from the two thousand or so temples and the traditional elements of Japanese culture evident in the city, I have particularly enjoyed the shopping in Kyoto. Some shops seem to be an exentsion of their owners' personality. Like walking into someones head, you're faced with clothes being hung next to stuffed toys, novelties and skateboards. A shop might exclusively devote it's floorspace to Canadian branded products or a more specific and bizarre example, the American band 'the Grateful Dead' . I've never seen anything like it. It makes shopping a pleasure. it makes you want to buy something because you feel you're buying somebody's art. I'm just itching to buy a pair of genuine carpenters jeans, made only in Vancouver. Not sure what that says about me or the person selling them.
Finally, we've witnessed an interesting phenomenon during our stay, here in Japan. There are many homeless people on the streets and sleeping in the parks of Tokyo and Kyoto. We've seen remarkable make-shift houses, mostly covered with blue tarpaulin, alongside rivers and roads here. They house people, who generally appear to be middle aged, I guess they are the 'by-product' of a rich and prosperous working culture going through recession and change. The strangest development, I think the homeless people have brought about is, the sale on the streets of, the BIG ISSUE. The homeless seem to be ignored by the population at large. They appear to be an embaressment. The introduction of the Big Issue might help to change this. But seriously, the homeless people are different to those we've experienced elsewhere in the world. No-one has ever asked us for money here and we've seen no-one begging. Honor and self respect still seem intrinsic to being Japanese.
xgregandjox
Hi folks from Kyoto,
Greg is preparing one of his mails, so Im going to write an additional mail to you - which is not easy as I cant find the apostrophe key and keep pressing something that turns my words into Japanese characters. This is a nice internet cafe though as they give us a portable Mac iBook to sit at our table with whilst we eat our lunch.
We totally love Japan. The longer we are here, we realise how little we ll manage to see in only three weeks, and how much more there is to do here.
All the anticipated stuff like kimono clad maidens, sushi, bonsai and pichenko slot machines have been surpassed by so many more interesting and unexpected things. The streets are so clean and no one vandalises the numerous vending machines - which ALWAYS work and ALWAYS have the item you want. People dutifully recycle all their litter and the recycling bins are outside every shop and vending machine. We have often said that taxi drivers are the same the world over (i.e pushy, irritating and rude), but the drivers here are the exception to the rule. Our driver the other day wore white gloves and a 3 piece suit. He wasn t sure where our guest house was, so used his mobile phone to ring them up and check so as to get there by the most direct route.
There seems to be a refreshing lack of foreign multi national company advertising of products like Coke and McDonalds. They do exist, but are not as apparent as Panasonic, Fuji, Toyota, Suntory and Nissan. We have enjoyed the healthy presence of Starbucks though as our guest house doesn t provide breakfast! A cafe culture seems to be alive and well, so we re never far away from a coffee and cake.
Many of the cars here are like dinky toys, and have all evolved into little cube shapes (Nissan have in fact called their car the Cube). The reason for this became clear when we walked along one of the numerous little side streets in Kyoto. The houses are so small and garage space is minimal, and only the smallest cube shape could fit in these tiny slots. The perfect solution!
I hadn t realised that the Japanese were a nation of dog lovers, but we see so many little poodles, terriers and chihauhas all with pretty collars and ear ornaments - even a dachshund with a raincoat with angel wings on - all happily sitting in the baskets on the front of bicycles, whilst their owners go shopping.
A most exciting discovery for me was the 100 yen shop - which means it s even cheaper than the pound shop! Even tacky plastic stuff in Japan is better quality than it is in the UK, and it must have been the place where our guest house owner bought our green terry-towelling toilet seat cover from. It is certainly the place where I ll be buying Pokemon earpicks as gifts.
xjoandgregx
Greg is preparing one of his mails, so Im going to write an additional mail to you - which is not easy as I cant find the apostrophe key and keep pressing something that turns my words into Japanese characters. This is a nice internet cafe though as they give us a portable Mac iBook to sit at our table with whilst we eat our lunch.
We totally love Japan. The longer we are here, we realise how little we ll manage to see in only three weeks, and how much more there is to do here.
All the anticipated stuff like kimono clad maidens, sushi, bonsai and pichenko slot machines have been surpassed by so many more interesting and unexpected things. The streets are so clean and no one vandalises the numerous vending machines - which ALWAYS work and ALWAYS have the item you want. People dutifully recycle all their litter and the recycling bins are outside every shop and vending machine. We have often said that taxi drivers are the same the world over (i.e pushy, irritating and rude), but the drivers here are the exception to the rule. Our driver the other day wore white gloves and a 3 piece suit. He wasn t sure where our guest house was, so used his mobile phone to ring them up and check so as to get there by the most direct route.
There seems to be a refreshing lack of foreign multi national company advertising of products like Coke and McDonalds. They do exist, but are not as apparent as Panasonic, Fuji, Toyota, Suntory and Nissan. We have enjoyed the healthy presence of Starbucks though as our guest house doesn t provide breakfast! A cafe culture seems to be alive and well, so we re never far away from a coffee and cake.
Many of the cars here are like dinky toys, and have all evolved into little cube shapes (Nissan have in fact called their car the Cube). The reason for this became clear when we walked along one of the numerous little side streets in Kyoto. The houses are so small and garage space is minimal, and only the smallest cube shape could fit in these tiny slots. The perfect solution!
I hadn t realised that the Japanese were a nation of dog lovers, but we see so many little poodles, terriers and chihauhas all with pretty collars and ear ornaments - even a dachshund with a raincoat with angel wings on - all happily sitting in the baskets on the front of bicycles, whilst their owners go shopping.
A most exciting discovery for me was the 100 yen shop - which means it s even cheaper than the pound shop! Even tacky plastic stuff in Japan is better quality than it is in the UK, and it must have been the place where our guest house owner bought our green terry-towelling toilet seat cover from. It is certainly the place where I ll be buying Pokemon earpicks as gifts.
xjoandgregx
