Lotus Farm
We packed up everything at Angkor Betel & got in the tour van again for a few sights before the airport to head back to Thailand. Our fist stop was a lotus farm where we got the low-down on the many uses of the plant & flower.
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| the cutest little Cambodian boy ever! |
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| his mom working in the lotus marsh |
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| our guide explaining the uses of the lotus |
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| the boy ran out & handed each of us lotus flowers |
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| Carley listening intently to the guide |
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| Stacia tasting a lotus seed, kind of like a pea out of a pod |
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| a sunken boat makes for nice decoration |
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| Kyra with a lotus flower with all the petals taken off |
Floating Villages
The main attraction for the day ended up being a bust as the tourists aren't allowed too close to these villages & we only spent about 2 minutes riding by in the boat at quite a distance. They do, however, take you to the floating souvenir shop & restaurant to get a feel for the vertiginous life. There are about 1,000 families that have lived on the lake for generations supporting themselves mainly by fishing of course.We got excited when our guide mentioned seeing crocodiles, but not so impressed as they are part of the floating shop caged up below deck. The most interesting part was simply riding along the canal with mud-colored water & seeing fishermen & kids playing along the bank.
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| getting on the boat in the muddy-water canal |
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| on our way to the floating villages |
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| Stacia quizzing our guide about life on the lake |
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| temporary housing for the fishermen |
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| water buffalo getting a bath |
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| kids playing in the murky canal |
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| the floating villages in the distance |
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| the poles mark where the anchor sits for each platform |
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| Avery happy to see the crocodiles are contained! |
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| a lazy crocodile, unaffected by thrown objects including lotus seeds via slingshot |
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| crocodile jerky |
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| a boat on stilts, not sure why |
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| fishermen hard at work |
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| Morgan kids happy with ice cream bars! |
Thai Arts & Crafts
We next visited workshop where local crafts are made. "The most boring tour ever" according to the kids. It was neat, though, seeing how all the millions of souvenirs are made, mostly still by hand.
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| this is so interesting! |
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| Avey tries carving the soap stone |
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| I had to get a shot of the ancient loom |
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| this is what makes the tour with it |
A Lethal Weapon
After we were maxed out on sight-seeing in Siem Reap,
our guide dropped us off at the airport with plenty of time to check-in. The
only glitch was Cannon’s threat he held in his hand, the deadly slingshot souvenir!
Thinking nothing of it, we entered security as he admired his new toy with a
pocket full of ammo: lotus seeds. The young Thai lady loading the bags into the
scanner spotted it. She didn’t confiscate it (maybe because of Stacia’s
persuasion) but saved the day by undoing the rubber band of the sling, thus
dismantling the lethal weapon. She was also clever enough to separate the two
pieces & handed me the sling & gave Stacia the handle. Cannon was sad but at least not devastated by a slingshot in the trash.
Worst Commute Ever
Hard times make easier futures & lasting memories. Getting out of southeast Asia will be hard to forget.The short flight (50min) back to Bangkok was our last of 5 flights with Air Asia. Not an airline we will miss (like Emirates). We got so sick of the Air Asia prepaid meals: 3 small sections of gross ham & cheese sandwich & a cup of water. We were supposed to land in Bangkok at 4:20 but were delayed at takeoff so we it was closer to 5pm when we got in. The lines at immigration were horrendous, not appearing to move at all for 10 minutes. When we did start moving we noticed we happened to pick the slowest line (grocery store phenomenon). After an hour & only a couple of people ahead of us, Stacia noticed a separate line for elderly, disabled & families with young kids... & there was no line!
Our next challenge was to get across town from DMK airport in northern Bangkok to the larger BKK airport east of town, about 30 miles away. Since we had proof of airline tickets for the next day, Stacia & the kids took the free shuttle. But I had to go get our luggage we had left at the Church Service Center 10 days ago. Sydney came with me which made the trip more bearable. We first took a 45-minute bus ride from the airport to the nearest metro station (it would be too easy if they extended the only metro line in Bangkok to the airports).
We then had to find the metro entrance which is difficult when there are thousands of people headed in all directions at he world's largest flea market (Chatuchak). We stood in line for about 10 minutes to get metro tickets & spent about 15 minutes on the metro. From the Pechaburi station we had to navigate via Google Maps on my phone in the dark to find the Church Service Center. Luckily it was right up the street. Now 8pm, Nephi Jensen had patiently waited for 3 hours since we landed just to let us in the building & make sure we got a taxi. Sydney & I walked up & down the street packed with cars but all the taxis were full or out of service. We finally haled a willing driver & we loaded up the 7 roller bags & said goodbye to Nephi. At about 9pm & 2 & 1/2 hours commuting across Bangkok, we finally made it to the hotel. It turns out that Stacia & the others had arrived only 5 minutes before us! Our last night in Bangkok was not as we imagined. Instead of hitting the night market one more time, we barely got to the hotel, ate dinner at the restaurant & went upstairs to repack our bags for the long haul to Europe. 5 hours sleep max.
Sound terrible. Hope that is the last difficult one.
ReplyDeleteYour experience helps us appreciate our easy commute to our own beds for the night.
ReplyDeleteOh that stinks! How come you didn't take the airport link (train) after picking up your luggage? You get on right down the street from the church office building. Traffic there is SO crazy isn't it?!
ReplyDelete