easy, but I made it. I booked an usually difficult itinerary on Delta Airlines because I had a pretty significant amount of frequent flyer miles that were scheduled to expire in August if I did not fly by then. I was scheduled to leave New York’s JFK airport at 7:15 PM with a 45 minute layover/connection in Atlanta, then another layover/connection in Manaus, Brazil, then a change of airlines in Manaus for a flight to Brasilia where I would have a brief layover with no change of planes before heading onward to Salvador. This itinerary was 26 hours and I knew it would be hellacious going into it, but I did it anyway. The first problem was the brief layover in Atlanta. I knew that if the flight from JFK was late, I would not make my connecting flight from Atlanta to Manaus and I even had this discussion with a friend and fellow frequent traveler days before I purchased my ticket, but I knew this was going to be a busy day for me, so I opted to book the later flight, which gave me an opportunity to handle some last-minute affairs prior to traveling. I arrived at JFK at about 5:50 PM, quickly checked in and found my way to the gate. I spent most my time on the phone, so I was unaware when 7:15 PM rolled around until there was an announcement that went something like this, “Passengers on flight #73 bound for Atlanta, please be advised that flight #73 is delayed. Our new departure time is 8:30 PM.” I immediately went to the counter and asked if I could be re-booked on a flight with a connection in São Paulo and I was advised that I should go to Atlanta anyway. I said, “Well my flight to Brazil is scheduled to leave Atlanta before this flight is scheduled to arrive.” The agent quickly retorted, “Yeah, but a lot of flights are delayed, so that flight MIGHT be delayed too, but if it is not delayed and you miss your connection we will NOT put you up in a hotel because the delay is weather related: there are really high winds in New York today and all flights are delayed out of the New York City area.” I asked when the next flight from Atlanta to Manaus was and I was told that it was 7 days later. Yes, Delta only offers this schedule on Fridays and Saturdays and this was Saturday. I called Delta’s toll-free number to get some advice and I was on hold for no fewer than 30 minutes. When I heard that my flight was boarding I hung up and had to make a quick decision…do I board and risk paying several hundred dollars in hotel fees or do I cancel the trip? I decided to tell them to pull my luggage from the plane. The ramp agent said, “It is too late to pull your bag. Your bag is going to Atlanta.” I said, “What do you mean? I am not getting on that flight. I have already missed my connection due to the delay. Can you book me on a different airline?” “Sir, you will need to go to gate 4 to see if they can help you.” is what he said. The question in my head that I was afraid to ask was, “Isn’t it a breach of security to have an unmatched bag on the aircraft?” (I thought I would be tagged as a terrorist or something or that the question would be repeated to someone else and completely reworded) I booked it on over to gate 4 and after explaining what happened to the agent behind the counter, he said, “Why did they send you here?” I guess this was a rhetorical question, but I felt compelled to reply anyway, so I shrugged my shoulders and let out a simple and pitiful, “I don’t know.” He said, “Give me a minute and I will help you.” After about 15 to 20 minutes, I was booked on a flight for São Paulo that was scheduled to leave 2 hours later. (I gave the agent a candy bar for his help…lol) This meant getting to my final destination 7 or 8 hours before I was scheduled to arrive. This made me happy, but my friend in Brazil was not expecting me until much later and with no way to call him, I just went for it. I know Salvador like the back of my hand, so finding ways to fill my time wouldn’t be a problem.
Getting in and out of São Paulo was easier than ever. I had to file a delayed bag claim, but the staff were helpful, so it took no longer than 5 minutes. I have been to São Paulo’s airport so many times, it was really a piece of cake, even though I left my camera on the plane. I was fortunate to realize it 5 minutes after I walked off the plane, so I just went back and had one of the employees get it for me. We left São Paulo on time and I arrived in Salvador da Bahia just before 3 PM, but of course my bag was still in Atlanta. Not having my bag made my departure from the airport super easy and timely. I exchanged about $300 USD, which gave me a little more than 500 Reais (pronounced hey-Ice) and I caught the bus to the center of the city and walked to a friend’s job. Unfortunately, my friend had already left for the day, so I found an internet cafe and sent a quick text message to his cell phone and called him on Skype. Since he and the person I am staying with are friends, he called him to let him know that I was here much earlier than expected, but he was out-of-town and would not be back for several hours, so I just hung out and did some of my favorite things before heading to his apartment.
The next few days were a bit of a pain because I had no clothes, but Delta has a daily spending allowance for passengers whose bags are delayed, so I was able to buy some new threads on Delta’s dime. Delta does not have service to Salvador, so they had to get my bag to TAM or GOL on a Salvador bound flight. This frightened me because I felt like involving too many people would surely get my bag lost or stolen. I called Delta and I was told that my bag had arrived in Salvador on a TAM flight, but when I called TAM, I was told that they did not have my bag, so after calling Delta again I was advised to just make the hour-long trip to the airport to check. I declined and called the office in São Paulo. The first several calls went unanswered, but I am relentless, so I called back several times and I finally spoke with Senhor Branco and he told me my bag was there and he would try to get it on a later TAM flight. My bag finally arrived 3 days later, but I had to make no fewer than 10 calls to get it done. Let’s see how long it takes Delta to get me my reimbursement check!
More updates with new pictures from some really beautiful places here in Brazil. I have been here for 1 month and I have done a lot.
Hasta la próxima vez mi gente bonita,
a1globetrotter
I arrived in Singapore after enjoying the first class bus ride from Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia on December 25th at about 9 PM, but by the time I arrived at my friend’s sister’s apartment, it was a bit too late to do anything, so we decided that we would take on the city the following day.
On December 26th we did just about everything there was to do in Singapore: Sentosa, Chinatown, Little India, Orchard road and so many things in between. By the end of the day, we felt like we had just completed a task on one of those reality t.v. shows. Sentosa was cool, but a little expensive for travelers on a budget. I picked up some clothing in Little India for my myself as well as my mom.
The following 2 days in Singapore were pretty uneventful because we did just about everything there was to do the first day. For some reason we thought there were so many things to do that we would not possibly be able to do them all in 3 days, so day one was jam-packed with activities which left us a little bored for the remainder of the short trip.
My little theory about taking travel advice with a grain of salt was proven yet again while I was in Singapore. I had been told by countless people that Singapore was expensive and very westernized and not really worth visiting. I strongly disagree. I mean, it is very British, but not all that expensive for a budget traveler. If you are like most American vacationers who need 5 star living arrangements with cable t.v. and a swimming pool and you are not willing to use public transportation and you only want to eat at the hotel then any place in the world is going to be expensive. However, if you travel with just a little common sense and are not afraid to take a bus or a subway and search the internet for great deals you will spend far fewer dollars. I found the food in Singapore just a little more expensive than the food in Thailand and pretty close to the same price as food in Malaysia’s capital city of Kuala Lumpur. I could eat a decent lunch for about $3 to $5 USD which isn’t bad. In Thailand I often had to order 2 portions to satisfy my mammoth American appetite, so my meals were almost the same price in both places. Living in Singapore is quite expensive compared some of its neighboring countries, but I wasn’t interested in living there, so the cost of living for its resident was totally irrelevant. As I have said before, I would rather travel and have my own experience than taking what someone else has to say into consideration when choosing my travel destinations. Life is about taking risks and living with the consequences.
“I am excited by all of the possibilities and I love all the risks involved, can overcome the challenges and am surely not afraid at all” – Robert Bumpers
My second bus ride to Malaysia was just as comfy as the first with a bit less stress since I did not get lost on my way to the bus station. Upon my arrival in Kuala Lumpur, I checked into the hotel and immediately went out to get something to eat. I had a taste for Nasi Lemak, which happens to be Malaysia’s national dish.
Here is a recipe for Nasi Lemak that I found online for anyone who wants to try to make this delicious dish at home.
Nasi Lemak:
1 cup rice
3 screwpine leaves
salt to taste
1 grated coconut
Sambal Ikan Bilis:
1 bombay onion
1/2 cup dried ikan bilis ( anchovies )
1 clove garlic
2 tbsps tamarind juice
4 shallots
8 dried chillies
Prawn paste ( belacan) ( Optional )
Salt and sugar to taste
Instructions
Nasi Lemak:
Clean the rice and drain. Squeeze out 2 cups of thick coconut milk with screwpine leaves. Add in salt. If you desire, you can also add in some sliced shallots and ginger. Serve this rice with sliced hard-boiled eggs, cucumber and sambal ikan bilis.
Sambal Ikan Bilis:
Fry the ikan bilis until crisp and put aside. Grind the prawn paste together with shallots, garlic, deseeded dried chillies. Slice the bombay onion into rings. Heat 2 tbsps oil in a pan and fry the ground ingredients until fragrant. Add in the onion rings. Add tamatind juice, salt, sugar. Cook, stirring occasionally until the gravy thickens. Add in the ikan bilis and mix well. Serve with steaming hot Nasi Lemak.
This was my 3rd trip to Malaysia in about 5 weeks and Kuala Lumpur certainly felt like a city with a lot to offer and tons of energy. Kuala Lumpur is very cosmopolitan an very hip with lots and lots of malls and just as many restaurants and brothels, for those who are into that kind of thing. I was propositioned by both men and women and several pimps tried to talk me into checking out their stable of young, hot things.
On this 3rd trip to Malaysia, I was certainly hoping for a party and a party was what I got on New Year’s Eve. The streets were just as packed as they were on Christmas Eve and every single person was in good spirits. There were no fights that I am aware of and the people were super nice and friendly. I heard that there would be a firework show at the “twin towers”, so I walked on over and commandeered a spot and snapped a few shots to make sure the camera was in working order for night-time photography. Once the settings were right, I just relaxed until the show began and before I knew it, it was over. I swear the fireworks lasted all of 5 minutes and they were not all that fantastic. I guess they were fair, but I was expecting more, a lot more, but I had a good time nonetheless. Before I knew it I was back on Bukit Bintang (the street where I stayed and party central. It is kind of like Kuala Lumpur’s version of Times Square. There is even a building called Times Square in the area.) and there was a party going on for sure. I hung out for a bit taking a few snap shots of the crowd before heading back tot he room to get some shut-eye. I needed to pack my bag and make some last-minute phone calls since I had only about 24 hours left in S.E. Asia.
Things I liked about Malaysia in particular order.
1. The food was divine! The Malay dishes were fantastic as was the Middle Easter cuisine.
2. The shopping was great. I am not a big shopper, but if you are, this is the place for you. (skip Thailand)
3. The people were warm and friendly and pretty helpful.
4. Chinatown and the section I call Little India were definitely worth visiting.
5. The weather.
6. The public transportation rivals that in any major city anywhere I have been.
7. The accommodations. There are accommodation for any budget from $20 USD per night to several hundred USD per night.
Hasta la próxima vez mi gente bonita,
a1globetrotter
Malaysia was blast!
I arrived in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia on December 24th in the early afternoon. The weather was quite humid and I was a little tired, but at the same time I was ready for yet another S.E. Asian adventure, so I boarded a bus from LCCT airport (Air Asia’s exclusive airport about 1 hour outside of the city) to KL Central, a major public transportation hub right in the center of Malaysia’s capital city. Once I reached KL Central, I was approached by a taxi driver who quoted me a price that was a lot more than I was willing to pay and even though I was tired of carrying my backpack, I was not about to be ripped off, so I wandered about until I found another driver who quoted me a price that was about half of what the first driver tried did. I told him to take me to the Binton Royale Hotel and within seconds we were speeding through the busy streets of Kuala Lumpur. When were were within 1 block of the hotel, the driver asked if he could let me out there and I firmly said, “No. I am paying to take me to the door, so that is where I would like to go. Thank you.” Once inside I was very impressed by the decor of this fabulous hotel, but when I handed the person behind the counter my passport she could not find my name in the reservation system, so I opened my computer and realized that I was at the wrong hotel…lol. I was supposed to be at the Binton Garden Hotel. I asked the clerk if she knew where it was and she did not, so she asked one of the hotel’s emplyees who happened to be standing a few feet away. He told me my hotel was located about a block away on the opposite side of the street, so I grabbed by bag and left in search of the Binton Garden Hotel. I walked about 2 blocks and I still did not see it, so I asked 2 security guards who were standing nearby and they pointed me in a direction that my instincts told me was way off, so I stopped in a travel agency and the receptionist told me exactly where it was. I walked about 1 block and there it was, this tiny little budget hotel sandwiched right between a restaurant and a souvenir shop, right accross the street from a 7 eleven and several other convenience store. I said to myslef, “Self, this is a cool area. I think I will like it here.” You know how some cities just have a certain vibrant energy and you know immediately if you will like it or not, well Kuala Lumpur has it and I knew I was in for a good time in this city with a population just shy of 2 million inhabitants.
I ended up checking in, dropping off my belongings and hitting the streets and my first impression of this city was spot on; it was vibrant and full of excitement. I went back to the room and tried to get online, but there was a problem with the internet, so I had to take my computer down to the lobby where the wifi was working. I logged onto Facebook and I updated my status. After spending placing a few calls with Skype and responding to some emails, I took a nap. A few hors later I went down to the lobby and the manager asked if I was going to go out to Bukit Bintang to celebrate Christmas eve. Bukit Bintang is the street where the hotel was located and once I exited the hotel I noticed the street was jam-packed, I mean there were people everywhere and everyone was in a festive mood. There were cans of fake snow, cameras, and even a marching band-it was a massive street party full of people celebrating Christmas in what is a Muslim country. I was shocked that Christmas was celebrated on such a large scale there. I assumed that most of the people there were young Muslims just taking advantage of an opportunity to party hard and party hard is absolutely what they did. I walked around with my camera around my neck taking pictures and shooting videos and taking some fake snow to the face. Yeah, I was sprayed a few times right in the fae, but it was all in good fun and I just laughed and walked speedily by as I protected my camera of course. I stayed out until about 2 AM before heading back to the hotel to get some sleep, so I could be prepared to check out of the hotel at noon. At 4 PM later that day I was supposed to meet a Malaysian friend from New York and we were going to head to Singapore together for a few days.
I rolled out of bed at about 10 AM, showered and packed my bag. I checked out of the hotel, but I sat in the lobby until about 1:15 PM using the internet and chatting with Nina, the receptionist. As I left I told Nina I would see her in a few days after my Singapore trip and I asked her where the Pasar Rakyat Bus Terminal was. She advised me that it was about a ten minute walk from the hotel and she pointed me in the general direction and told me it was near the Times Square building. I figured when I made it to the Times Square building I would ask for more detailed directions. So after grabbing a bite to eat I reached the Times Square building and I asked for directions and time and time again I was told that I would need to take the monorail to the other side of town to the bus terminal. I repeatedly said, “No, the bust terminal is close to the Times Square building.” But everybody I asked (no fewer than 20 people) including someone inside the booth at the monorail station told me that I would need to go to the other side of town, so against my better judgement I took the monorail and as I sat in the bus terminal a feeling came over me and I knew I was at the wrong place, so I asked a stranger he told me that the bus terminal I was looking for was near the Times Square building. I was hot and sweaty and I really wanted to just cancel my trip to Singapore at this point, but I am not a quitter, so I could not stop until I found the Pasar Rakyat Bus Terminal. I spotted a taxi driver and I asked him how much he would charge me to take me there and he said 30 Ringit and I walked away. I knew the price was inflated and I just didn’t feeling like being taken advantage of, so I found my way back to the monorail station and finally made it back to the Times Square building where I found a pay phone and called my friend who was supposed to meet me at the bus station. The pay phone was out of service, so I set out to find another and it was also out of service. Drenched in sweat, frustrated and annoyed I asked someone else and as I had done previously I showed him the name of the Pasar Rakyat Bus Terminal written on a piece of paper and he told me that I needed to take the monorail tot he other side of town. I said, “No. I just came from there and the Pasar Rakyat Bus Terminal is close to this building.” Well I ended up walking away and asking someone else who told me the same thing. Finally, I stopped a foreigner, Chinese I think and she told me she had no idea where the terminal was and seconds after I walked away she called out to me and said, “Ya know, I just remembered seeing a bus terminal in that direction, but you may want to stop in that hotel and ask just to be sure.” I walked and I spotted 2 police officers, so I asked one of them if he knew where the Pasar Rakyat Bus Terminal and he said, “Go straight, turn right.” I said, “Where do I turn right?” And he answered with, “Straight, straight, turn.” I decided to go with my instincts and I walked until I saw a bus and then another bus, so I figured the Pasar Rakyat Bus Terminal was near. I asked a group of teens and none of them spoke English, but I was able to use sign language and I pointed ot a bus and said, “Singapore, Singapore!” And they pointed, so I walked for about 5 more minutes and I spotted my friend there on the sidewalk freaking out because she thought I wasn’t going to make in time. Check-in was at 4:00 PM and departure was scheduled for 4:30 PM. I arrived at 4:20 PM and the first thing out of her mouth was, “Oh my God, you are so skinny.” I explained that the malaria prophylaxis caused me to get very sick and loose a lot of weight. Then she said, “You look like you just stepped out of the shower, but you forgot your towel.” Sweat was pouring off of me and I was exhausted…
The 5 hour ride to Singapore was relaxing and very comfortable. All the chairs on the bus were almost like first class airplane seat and they were all equipped with massage pads that were activated with the touch of a button.
Here are some picture from the Christmas eve festivities in Kuala Lumpur…
Hasta la próxima vez mi gente bonita,
a1globetrotter
Vietnam is a very interesting place for a black man
Oh my, my, my…the adventure started with the 12 hour bus ride from Sihanouk Ville, Cambodia which was pretty ok. Most of the busses in S.E. Asia are pretty much like Greyhound busses, not the most comfortable setup, but tolerable. The bus from Malaysia to Singapore was ultra comfortable, like flying first class, but I’ll tell you about that when the time comes for that post.
Sitting next to me on the bus was an American white guy from Oklahoma who left the USA in 2005, during the second reign of King George II, he traveled around the world and ended up in Viet Nam in 2007. The only reason I am mentioning him is because he said to me, “Brother, keep a low profile while in Viet Nam. You seem like you will anyway, but they don’t like the brothers.” This was not what I wanted to hear as I entered Viet Nam, but I have learned that my experiences are almost always different from everyone else’s, so what people say doesn’t really matter all that much to me. The best way to experience a place is to just get in there and get your hands dirty and if people have a problem with me, it is their problem and it has nothing to do with me, but I did ask why and he said, “I don’t know. They have color complex, they bleach their skin to look white.” I already knew about the skin bleaching and the HUGE desire to have white skin, but like I said, that is their issue. I was there to have a good time and no amount of stupidity was going to get in my way.
The first thing I will sa about Sai Gon is…I have never seen that many motorbikes in my life. There are about 8 million people in this city and I think there are about 8 million motorbikes. When one crosses they street, they don’t stop, so you just walk and they go around you like water. I will upload a video, so you can see for yourselves.
The bus finally arrived and let us out right on Pham Ngu Lao Street and I knew my hotel was located right off the main street in a little alley, so I looked at he numbers and I realized I really close, so I just walked. It took no longer than 7 minutes and I was there and all checked in and ready to hit the shower before heading out to forage for food. It was pretty late, so I figured I would eat and hit the sack eary, so I could head to the “American War” museum the following day. I found a little restaurant and I ordered some sweat and sour fish dish that was not very good, but I ate it anyway. I headed to an ATM to withdraw some cash, but I couldn’t figure out how much to withdraw because the exchange rate is something like 19,000:1. I think I withdrew 200,000 Dong and then I realized I would need at least million, so I had to withdraw more the following day, which meant getting another bank fee from Citibank, but there is really no way to avoid all those fees when traveling abroad. Last month I think I paid close to $60 in ATM fees, but it may be more because I have still not done the math.
The next afternoon I vowed to take it easy because my eyes were still yellow and I didn’t want to overexert myself, so I walked to the “American War” museum where I met a young Vietnamese girl who was looking for foreigners to speak English with. She said she looked at me and I seemed friendly, so she decided to come over and strike up a conversation. She asked if she could come into the museum with me and of course I said yes. Her English was pretty good, but it was obvious that she just needed to practice. Her grammar was good and she had a decent vocabulary, so we walked and talked for about an hour before I decided to head back to the hotel.
I must say that everywhere I went in Viet Nam people gawked and I have to say it did make me feel a little uncomfortable, but just a little. I made a point of projecting an abundance of confindence everywhere I went, but it was a little tiring. None of the stares seemed to be stares of disdain or disgust, but it was weird nonetheless. I think they were just very curious. By day 3 I decided that nobody was going to make me feel awkward, not even a little bit, so when I saw people staring, I called them on it, in a friendly way. I would look at them with the same look of curiosity then I would smile and say hi. Why should I be the only one feeling uncomfortable? Almost all of them smiled and said hi back, a few even came over to talk to me or to touch me. It was during my 3rd day in Viet Nam that a man and a woman approached me as I was taking pictures and asked me to go home with them to meet their mother and sister. I started to stutter a bit and I told them that I was a bit busy seeing the sites, so I would not be able to go with them. I thought they were swingers or some other kind of freaks, but when I asked how they were married they laughed and said, “We are brother and sister.” They weren’t even Vietnamese, they were from the Philipines visiting their brother who lives in Ho Chi Min City. The woman was very flirtatious and she kept touching my arms…LOL. She also told me that she was a masseuse. I asked why they wanted me to go with them and the guy said, “I had a black friend once in the Philipines, he was in the military, but he moved back to the states.” I am still scratching my head about this incident. Later that night while taking some pictures, I turned around and this guy had his cell phone out taking pictures of me. I could not let it go because he was only about 3 or 4 feet from me and he was so bold, so I figured if he was going to be that bold he needed to get embarrassed, so I said, “Have you never seen a black man before?” He looked scared and said, “Huh?” I said it again and his friend translated for him, then the friend apologized by saying, “Sorry, my friend stupid.” I continued and when I finished they were still there, so I walked over and put my arm around the guy and said, “If you’ve never seen a black man before, let’s take a picture together.” His face lit up like a Christmas tree and he handed his friend his cell phone and the friend took 2 pictures and I chatted with them for a bit before excusing myself…LOL. About 20 minutes later an entire group of people wanted to take pictures with me. I felt like a celebrity, it was strange, but I liked it. When I went back to the hotel I asked the receptionist about what had occurred and she told me that they may see 1 black person every six months, so they are just curious. I saw a few Africans there, but only a few, so I guess she was right.
I had a good time in Viet Nam and I feel like I should have stayed a few more days, but I had already booked a flight, so staying was not an option for me. I did not get the impression that race was an issue for them.
The next morning I caught a flight to Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia
Here are some pictures from Sai Gon (Ho Chi Min City), Viet Nam.
Hasta la próxima vez mi gente bonita,
a1globetrotter
Sihanouk Ville, Cambodia…my mini beach getaway.
I arrived in Sihanouk Ville too late to do anything, but check into the guesthouse. The 4 hour bus ride from Phnom Penh seemed more like 6 hours, but it was peaceful and if it had not been for the movies playing on the tv’s on the bus it would have been pleasant.
The beach in Sihanouk Ville was nothing special. Perhaps I went to the wrong beach, but the water comes right up to where the chairs are which is right along where the bars are. The cool thing about this beach is that is has personality. The local vendors offer everything from massages to fruit, to manicures and pedicures on the beach. I pretty much ignored everyone who came over trying to sell me something because there were just so many of them. Literally, every 30 seconds someone different came over offering a massage or a friendship bracelet or fruit or prawns or just to beg for money. I could only take it for about 1.5 hours before I had had enough. The scenery is nice with the islands off the coast in the near distance and the greenery that is nearby, but I definitely prefer the beaches on the Andaman Sea. The visibility in the gulf of Thailand is certainly not comparable. Some people say you can’t compare, but I say you sure can. There is nothing wrong with comparing two places.
My plan was to stay here for 3 nights, but I may just leave tomorrow morning on the first bus to Viet Nam. There are many different options and price points, but I think I will go with the most expensive option because there are supposedly only 3 stops and the driver takes care of getting the passports stamped once we reach the border of Viet Nam. I’ll pay the extra $3 USD to be comfortable and they will pick me up in the morning at the guesthouse, so I won’t have to scramble around, trying to get to a bus station in the middle of nowhere. I already have a flight booked from Ho Chi Min City (Sai Gon) to Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia on December 24th, so I figure a few days in Viet Nam will be enough to see all that Sai Gon has to offer. My original plan was to be there for 7 days, but everyone with whom I spoke said 7 days was far too much time to spend in that city, so I thought about heading north to Hanoi, Viet Nam but all of the busses from Cambodia stop in Sai Gon first, so it just seemed like a huge waste of time and money, so the owner of the guesthouse in Siem Reap suggested Sihanouk Ville instead for a day or 2.
It was here in Sihanouk Ville that I first noticed I had jaundice. I wasn’t quite sure because the lighting in the bathroom was poor, but it looked like my eyes were very yellow. I was without internet, so I immediately went to a cyber café and googled malarone (my malaria prophylaxis) and jaundice and voila, there it was, one of the most sever side effects of this medication. Every website I found said that getting to a hospital immediately was advisable, but there was no hospital around, so I just drank a lot of water to get the medication out of my system and hoped the jaundice and all of my other symptoms of liver damage would go away as quickly as possible. I felt ok, but my urine was very dark and my bowel movements were much lighter than they should have been, so I knew that my liver was not functioning properly.
The next morning I boarded the bus to Viet Nam and I felt fine, but my eyes were yellow and I felt a bit uncomfortable looking at people when I talked to them. On the form that one has to fill out before entering the country, it asks if you’ve had jaundice in the last 10 days and of course I ticked the “no” box for fear that I would either be quarantined or immediately deported back to the Cambodian border. I entered Viet Nam without incident.
Here are a few pictures from Sihanouk Ville, Cambodia.
Hasta la próxima vez mi gente bonita,
a1globetrotter
My time in Phnom Penh
After leaving Siem Reap, Cambodia I decided to check out Cambodia’s bustling capital city of Phnom Penh. Phnom Penh is a busy city with a lot to offer. I was mainly interested in seeing the Nigerian pimps and their hoes along the city’s riverfront. The first night in Phnom Penh I was very sick from my anti malaria medication, so I decided to stop taking it after not being able to keep my dinner down. I have lost several pounds here in Cambodia because while on the medication I was not able to eat anything. It completely destroyed my appetite, leaving me with the urge to eat ice-cold fruit and ice cream only.
The day after I arrived in Phnom Penh I hired a driver to take me to the killing fields and to the school that was used as a torture chamber during the 1975-1979 genocide here in Cambodia, know as the Khmer Rouge. I had heard that both were extremely depressing, but I wanted to go anyway. They are really a must see for anyone visiting Phnom Penh. The first stop was the killing fields and the first thing you see upon entering is a collection of human skulls behind a glass case. There are ropes and signs advising people to avoid walking on the mass graves, so I took a few pictures and after about 20 minutes I was ready to go. I didn’t find it all that depressing. There are really no signs of a mass genocide. The next stop was the school that was used as the torture chamber where there were pictures of some of the victims of the genocide as well pictures of some of the devices that were used to torture them. Again, I didn’t find it at all depressing. Both places felt like memorials or museums to me.
It is my understanding that about 1.5 million people were killed from 1975 to 1979 in Cambodia. Anyone perceived to be a threat was tortured and murdered. It is also my understanding that anybody who wore spectacles or had a college degree was killed. Many of the victims were lured to the killing fields by people promising to take them for furhter education. Many people say that China was behind it all, but I am not quite sure to what degree.
I had a small argument with the tuk tuk driver because he tried to change the price of the ride half way through. I was firm and refused to give him the additional money he requested, so he followed me into the guesthouse where I stayed and demanded the extra cash. He kept saying that he charged too little for the amount of driving he did. I told him that I understood that it was a little money, but that was the price we both agreed was fair at the beginning of the trip. I ended up leaving the money on a bar stool and walking away to my room. I said to him as I placed the money on the stool, “I will leave the $12 here and if you don’t decide to take it I am sure someone else will.”
Hasta la próxima vez mi gente bonita,
a1globetrotter
Volunteering at the orphanage in Siem Reap, Cambodia was such a rewarding experience.
I have been wanting to do some voluteer work for quite a while, but I can never seem to find the right organization, the time or the drive to actually do it. Thankfully, the owner of the guesthouse where I stayed in Siem Reap has quite a few local connections and he was able to make volunteering at an orphanage a reality.
My second day in Siem Reap, Amanda, Charlotte, Kate and I decided to go to a local orphanage to do some volunteer work. We weren’t quite sure what we would be doing there, but we just went along for the ride. Once we arrived the children ran out to the tuk tuk and greeted us with smiles, cheers and laughter. I think we all felt a bit overwhelmed and a bit like celebrites in that moment. As we exited the tuk tuk we had children all over us, so we just went in and started playing with them. I saw one little boy on the floor playing with building blocks, so I joined him. We built a little tower and I pulled out my camera and started taking pictures. Another of children was the artist of the group, so he showed us all of his drawings. Some of the other children just wanted to practice their English with us, so we talked to them and asked questions about their lives and they asked us questions about ours.
As we made our way back to the classroom, we noticed two dormitories, one for the girls and the other for the boys. Each dormitory had only 2 beds and the orphanage housed 36 children, most of whom were boys. The classroom was a little run down room with wooden tables and benches. Right next to the classroom was the kitchen, where 2 women were preparing food for the children It was sad to know that people actually live like this, but the good thing is all the children seemed really happy.
After we were given a tour of the orphanage, the children put on a show for us, in which they danced a traditional Khmer dance called Apsara. For me, seeing the girls all dressed up looking like grown women was a little disturbing, but I didn’t say anything. It reminded me of JonBenét Ramsey.
After the Apsara performance I found the director and I asked her if they needed anything and she told me that more than anything else they needed meat, so we all agreed to go back the following day, so we could go to the market to buy food for the children. I asked the directory if they had a refrigerator to keep the meat cold and she said no, so I told her that I would like to donate one, so they wouldn’t have to spend so much money for ice to keep the meat from spoiling. I was told that the cost for a refrigerator in Cambodia would be about $200 USD, so I told her that once I was back in the states I would see what I could do about donating one.
The following day after seeing the sunrise at Angkor Wat, we all returned with a bag full of educational supplies that we bought at a stationary store on our way to the orphanage. When we showed the director what we had purchased, she seemed very annoyed. She didn’t even say thank you, nor did her attitude reflect that of someone who was thankful, so I started to have second thoughts about my offer to donate a refrigerator.
Kate and I joined the director and one of her employees at the market and we saw a completely different side of this woman, it was almost like she was on a shopping spree, so I said to the translator, “Can you tell her that if meat is what they need most then we need to move to the meat section because we are not rich and we are all on a budget?” I said it using those exact same words, so I hope it was well received, but to be honest I don’t really care how she took it. We bought 2 kilos of meat and I am not sure how many kilos of vegetables this woman picked up, but it was a lot, a whole lot. I asked her how the veggies would last and she said 2 months. How the hell do you keep veggies for 2 months even with refrigeration…hmmm. I was really starting to wonder about this woman’s intentions. My gut told me something was wrong and Kate had the same feeling.
Later that night we met up with some other people who had done volunteer work at the same orphanage and they shared several horror stories with us. This woman was no less than a beast. She had kicked children out for several days, sold food that other volunteers had purchased and even called the immigration police on 2 volunteers because she thought they had convinced another wealthy Australian volunteer to stop donating money. She even told one volunteer that she wanted to have 100 children at her orphanage, so that she could be famous all over Cambodia. I even heard stories of her buying children from their poor parents in the Cambodian countryside.
The next day I left Siem Reap for Phnom Penh, Cambodia, but I plan to stay in touch with one of the guys from the orphanage via email.
Here are some pictures of Siem Reap as well as some of the children that touched me in ways that I had never imagined.
Hasta la próxima vez mi gente bonita,
a1globetrotter
I have been sick, so I haven’t updated in a while
The malaria prophylaxis I was taking made me pretty sick, so I had to stop taking it. The day after I started taking malarone, I noticed I had no desire to eat, but I thought it was due to the heat in Cambodia. All I really wanted was ice cream or really cold fresh fruit juice. By day 3 when I tried to eat I got dizzy and I had to excuse myself form dinner 2 days in a row, but I still did not think it was the malrone. By day 5 or 6 I was in Phnom Penh, Cambodia and I ate, took the pill and immediately felt like I was going to pass out ater feeling pretty ok earlier in the day. I got in bed and all of my dinner came up. I am happy I made it to the toilet in time. I decided that that would be my last dose of malarone, I would just have to take my chances. I just could not tolerate that stuff. Two days later I was in Sihanouk Ville, Cambodia ( a small beach town) and I looked in the mirror and noticed I had jaundice, my eyes were yellow and I freaked out. I went online and googled malarone and jaundice and there it was, a pretty dangerous side effect of the medication. One of the articles I found said something like if you experience jaundice and/or list of other side effects, go to a hospital immediately. Well, I was no where near a hospital, so I just drank lots of water and hoped I would get better. I emailed a friend who is a doctor, but I got no reply, so the next day after a 12 hour bus ride to Ho Chi Min City, Vietnam I called him and left a message then I clled back a few hours later and we finally spoke. He asked me some questions and then told me to go to a hospital. I told him that I had not taken the medication in 4 or 5 days and that my symptoms were improving, so he told me that it seemed like I was getting better, but he advised me that if things got worse or if I started itching that I would need to go to a hospital to have blood tests done to make sure I was actually getting better. I am happy to say I feel much better now even though I still have a bit of jaundice and according to what I read online it may last for a few weeks. I still have some of the other symptoms (dark urine and light bowel movements), but they are getting better…I am happy the liver is one of those organs that regenerates itself.
I will have more updates about the orphanage where I volunteered in Siem Reap, Cambodia and my experiences in Phnom Penh, Cambodia, Sihanouk Ville, Cambodia and Ho Chi Min City (Sai Gon), Viet Nam. I just need to resize the pictures, so stay tuned.
Tomorrow morning I have a flight to catch to Malaysia, then the following day I will meet some friends and we are taking the bus or train to Singapore for 3 days before returning to Malaysia where I will spend the rest of my vacation (about 6 days or so).
Hasta la próxima vez mi gente bonita,
a1globetrotter
Crossing the border from Thailand into Cambodia was an absolute nightmare, but I made it through…
The train ride from Bangkok to Arenyaprateth, Thailand was a piece of cake, but the border crossing was like something out of a movie.
The only difficult part was making sure I was out of the hostel by 4:15 AM, so I could make it to the train station on time. I arrived at the train station no later than 4:30 AM, purchased my ticket to Arenyaprateth (a sleepy little town less than 20 kilometers from the border of Cambodia) and I patiently waited to board the train. Once on the train, I had a seat all to myself, right next to an open window about 2 rows back from the toilet. I didn’t want to be too close, just in case the smells got a bit too intense for my senses to bear. At 5:55 AM, right on schedule the train left the station and the fresh, cool breeze was all I needed to stay awake and focus on the rather mundane scenery. It seemed like every 15 minutes or so we stopped so other passengers could board, but the train never reached its maximum capacity. Finally, after an hour or so, a young Thai guy sat across from me and we communicated from time to time with friendly gestures, a nod or just a smile. At one point he asked me to save his seat without saying a word, but I understood exactly what he meant. I had been warned to stay awake throughout the duration of the trip if I wanted to arrive in Cambodia with all of my belongings. The ride was not nearly as scenic as I had hoped, but it was nice nonetheless. It was pretty flat with rice paddy after rice paddy after rice paddy. I was getting a little sleepy, so I decided to ignore the advice that I had been given and I took a nap, but first I took my bag from the overhead luggage compartment and I used it as a huge pillow. The only way a thief was going to steal my bag was to steal me too and that was not likely, so I slept and from time to time I awoke to look around at the friendly faces surrounding me. There were 2 other backpackers sitting diagonally across from me (Eastern European I think). After about 6 hours we arrived in Arenyapratheth and the young Thai guy sitting across from me said, “Arenyapratheth.” I think I looked a little out of it still from my brief nap, so he felt like he needed to let me know this was my stop-the final stop on this train.
Before I tell what happened next, I will say that most of you know me as the happy-go-lucky guy who jokes a lot and is almost always in a good mood, but this day was very, very different.
Once off the train, there were many tuk tuk drivers asking if any of us foreigners needed a ride to the border market. I accepted a ride from the first guy who approached because his priced seemed reasonable based on what I had previously read online about what it should cost from there to the Rongkula border market. I said, “Take me to the border market.” And the driver said, “Yeah, Yeah…border market.” It seemed like only a few minutes later we arrived at a place where a few guys with Cambodian id’s and immigration forms greeted us (me as well as other foreigners who arrived at about the same time) with questions like, “Do you need a visa? Do you need a taxi to Siem Reap?” I asked the driver, “Is this the border market?” And the driver responded, “Yes. This is the border market.” I sat at a bench and a very friendly guy asked to see my passport and he handed me some immigration forms to fill out, but something just didn’t seem right. Before I go on, here is an email from the owner of the guesthouse where I had already booked a room in Siem Reap. The email will give you an idea of the adventure that was soon to come:
Hello Sir Robert,
How are you doing? I am sorry, we cannot go and pick you up from Poipet. The crossing is the worst of all crossings in the world, the most craziest one with some silly MONOPOLY structure. It’s a free country and free market but not at Poipet. I am sure you’ll see so many problems there and please get ready for the ADVENTURE and FIGHT at the border. We cannot do any business with some folks in that area..
So here is our good reminder: Please be smart and remember that you still have options. You can take taxi or bus… BUT BUT BUT please DO NOT CHANGE ANY MONEY WHEN ASKED while still in Arannprateth. The’ll just rip you off. You could do but just small amount. You can use your Credit Cards here.. several big banks and ATM machines all around the street…
If you have any other questions, please let me know!Yours,
Meang
I had never been here before, but something in my spirit told me this was not where I was supposed to be, so as I filled out the forms I kept asking questions like, “Where does Thailand end and where does Cambodia begin?” And each time, the nice guy would point to the other side of the fence just steps away, but I didn’t stop asking questions. The guy called over his “boss” and I asked, “Why are they asking me to pay for a visa even though I already have a visa to enter Cambodia?” He responded with, “You have the online visa which costs $25 USD. So you still need to pay the immigration fee of 200 Baht.” (which is Thai currency, by the way) I asked so many questions a young British guy said to me, “Wait, you already have a visa and they are asking you to pay more money?” I said, “Yes. Something just doesn’t seem right here.” The young Brit got up and walked through the fence that was supposedly the border, but not before I had already handed over 700 Baht for a taxi from Poi Pet, Cambodia to Siem Reap, Cambodia (about 2 hours away by taxi). When the British guy returned a few minutes later to pick up his female companion who he had left there to fill out the immigration papers, he said absolutely nothing. He whispered something to his companion and they both left. The nice guy who had helped me fill out the papers gave me a receipt for the taxi and told me to walk about 50 meters, so an official could stamp my passport. When I joined the line, the young British guy and his female companion were there waiting and when they saw me they said, “They just stole your money, that was a scam. The Thais have set up a fake border and they are collecting money from people who don’t know any better.” This was the second couple that had averted the same scam that I had fallen victim to because of my million and one questions and nobody had decided to alert me. Instead they decided to walk quietly away like little pussies. I later learned that the Thais conned many other people that day at the same fake border set up.
I had a few seconds to think about my plan of action and I almost immediately said to the first couple from Belgium that I helped avoid the scam, “I’m going back to get my money!” They both said at the same time, “Good luck!” I marched right back down the street, hot and sweaty and fuming from anger and frustration. I had a backpack on my back that weighed close to 20 kilos (about 40 pounds) and a plastic bag in one hand. My passport and cash were tucked away in a pouch near my groin. I arrived at the fake border where they had computers set up and I sized them all up and figured, I could take at least 2 of them if it came to that. I walked right over to the nice guy who approached me as I exited the tuk tuk and shouted, “I want my money back NOW! And of course he laughed and responded with, “I am not giving you anything. What’s the problem sir?” I said, “This is a scam, this little receipt is fake and this is not the real border” I was in his face with my finger pressed against his forehead. Again I shouted, “I want my money back now.” He said, “Have a seat, this is just a simple misunderstanding.” I said, “I am not sitting anywhere and there is no misunderstanding.” As he backed away, I got even closer and he said, “You are crazy. If you want a problem, I will give you a problem.” I quickly said, “What I want is my money and you ain’ seen crazy yet!” At this point one of his coconspirators intervened and pulled out his “official id” to enter Cambodia. I snatched it right out of his hand and grabbed him by his arm and yanked him and said, “Follow me. If this is your official id to enter Cambodia, we will enter Cambodia together.” I pulled him for a few seconds before I let him go and like a puppy he followed me down the street, trying to get me to follow him into a corner somewhere. I said, “No, no, no, the border is here and if you want you id back, you will cross the border into Cambodia with me or you will give me my money back NOW.” At this point, he refused to give me my money back, so I kept walking with him in tow. Once inside the real border station he demanded his id and I said, “You will get your id when I get my money or we will cross into Cambodia together if this is real.” He looked frustrated, dazed and utterly confused, kind of like he could not believe he was dragged down the street by some foreigner with balls of steel and the courage of a lion or better yet, some crazy, sweaty, super adrenaline charged negro who really didn’t give a damn at that point. Everyone in the border station had their eyes on me to see what the I was about to do, but the funny thing is, the border patrol agents never stopped doing their jobs and I think that is because I had already spoken with one of them (the only one who spoke English) and she is really the one who had confirmed that the Thais were up to no good and she actually smiled at me letting me know that she had my back. Finally, the guy said, “You’re crazy” and he opened his wallet and handed me my money, but I still didn’t give him his id. I made this little punk beg for it. He literally begged and right before it was my turn to speak with an immigration official, I handed it to him.
I know you are all thinking I am a crazy lunatic and I am ok with that. I have my moments of insanity or I wouldn’t live the life I live.
The story is not over. After crossing the border, I saw one of the con artists on the other side, the Cambodian side and he kept eyeing me and I kept my eye on him as well. He kept whispering to people and then they would look at me like, that is that crazy negro, but at that point I was still pretty hype, so I was just like come on over here if you wanna. I was feeling like Mike Tyson, Muhammad Ali or Joe Frasier after scoring a knockout. To be honest, I was a little afraid for my safety at this point, but I did what I felt I needed to do in the moment. None of them had any visible weapons and I had already decided that I would use my bag as a weapon and a shield to knock one out while stomping another into a bloody pulp until all their friends jumped in to beat the crap out of me…lol.
I boarded a Cambodian government bus to the bus/taxi terminal with 15 or 20 other backpackers and guess who showed up. The same guy who was working with the con artists on the Thailand side. He was still giving me the evil eye and I completely flipped out on him after he started whispering and trying to draw attention to me. At this point, I already felt unsafe, so I just wanted it to be over with. If something was going to go down, it needed to go down with the 15 or 20 other foreigners around. I pointed at him and just started yelling at him, “You are a liar!” “You’re a liar!” I made a huge scene, but I didn’t care. I whispered to one of Cambodian government employees, “He was working with the Thais on the other side of the border, eh? And he nodded and hung his head in shame. So to make a long story short, the guy who was following me worked for the Cambodian government and he was also working with the Thai guys who had set up the fake border.
After making such a commotion, I noticed 3 girls looking at me and somehow we struck up a conversation and I found out that they had been scammed as well (for a lot more money than I had), but they did not get their money back. I noticed two of the girls had English accents and one had an American accent. The girl with the American accent said, “Where are you from?” I said, “New York. Well, no, I’m actually from California, but I have lived in New York for many years.” It turns out that we are from the same city in California, so we kind of bonded. I asked them if they were headed to Siem Reap and they said yes, so I figured I would get a ride in a taxi with them, but it seemed as though the car was full already. I did not want to be left alone at this bus station, so Amanda (the girl from California) slipped me her bus ticket on the side, but I still felt very uneasy because it was about 2 PM and the next bus was not scheduled to depart until approximately 4 PM, leaving roughly 2 hours for me to disappear into a Cambodian ditch or a river, never to be heard from again. Amanda, Kate and Charlotte walked toward their taxi and I was left there desperately trying to find someone to catch a ride with, but it seemed as though everyone had already paired into groups of 4 (the maximum number that could fit into a taxi). Frustration was setting in when suddenly, a guy said, “Are you taking a taxi?” I said, “Yes.” He said, “Follow me.” I emphatically said, ”No. Where is the taxi?” I was not about to follow anyone, anywhere without knowing exactly where I was going. And he pointed and I saw the 3 girls with whom I had just been chatting. I walked over, threw my stuff in the trunk and paid the difference between the bus fare and the taxi fare, which was $4 USD and we were off. Once in the car, I found out that Kate had changed the number on the hand written taxi receipt from 2 to 3, allowing Amanda to get a ride for free since they had all been scammed for quite a bit of money. She felt like it was her way of getting back at the Thai guys who had conned us all. During the ride, Kate said to me that she just did not feel comfortable leaving me behind at the bus station because she could see it in my face that I felt very uneasy about being left there.
It turns out that I was the only person in the car who had a room booked, so the taxi driver drove us to a location where we met up with a tuk tuk driver who then drove us to the guesthouse that I had booked. Once we arrived at the point of exchange the taxi driver whispered something to the tuk tuk driver and he looked at me. It was really weird and it freaked me out. Kate noticed it too. It was like they kept saying, “That is the crazy guy who freaked out on the Thai guys at the border.” We arrived at the guesthouse where I had booked a double room for $8 USD per night and Amanda asked if she could crash with me in room 1 and I agreed and Kate and Charlotte crashed upstairs in room 18. For the next 4 days we did everything together. We went to the Angkor Wat temples together, splitting the cost of the tour guide, volunteered at an orphanage, had breakfast, lunch and dinner together and just had a fantastic time. On day 5, Kate and Charlotte were off to Laos and I headed to the capital city of Cambodia, Phnom Penh and Amanda stayed behind for one more day.
Kate and I are almost like twins. Our temperament is quite similar and our instincts are eerily similar. I’ll tell you more about that later when I blog about the director of the orphanage.
Here are some pictures of Angkor Wat as well as some pictures of the real Cambodia, away from the tourist areas.
Hasta la próxima vez mi gente bonita,
A1globetrotter
Back in Bangkok for 1 night only and the drama has already begun
I arrived at the bus terminal and a taxi driver approached asking if I needed a taxi and I said yes. He asked where I was going and I gave him the address as well as the phone number of the hostel where I just booked a simple room to get some shut eye before boarding my 5:55 AM train to Cambodia. The driver called the hostel and quoted me a rate of 250 Baht. I promptly said, “You use meter.” And the driver looked at me and said, “Fuck you!” I looked at him and said, “Suck my dick!” A few feet away there was another driver who agreed to use his meter and the short ride only came to 79 Baht. I handed him 100 Baht and he acted like he didn’t want to give me any change, so I stuck my hand out and he said, “Tip, tip.” I said, “No tip, no tip.” He then said, “Idiot, idiot.” I called him an idiot and left his taxi. Locals never tip metered taxi drivers and after being ripped off so many times, I refuse to give them anything. The other day I just started yelling at this taxi driver because I had given him the address of the place where I was goin in Thai as well as the phone of the place and he was trying to act like he didn’t know where it was. I said in a very loud aggressive tone, “Listen here! You are not going to drive around all night looking for this place, I gave you the address and the phone in your language, so don’t even try it! If you don’t know where it is, pick up your little phone and call them.” Then he suddenly said, “Oh ok”…and found his way in a matter of minutes. The only way to get anything done here is to be a total dick. I feel like this city brings out the worst in me. I am always on edge, just waiting for an opportunity to flip out on someone. I am prepeared to say, I hate Bangkok and I think the only way I will end up here again is on my way to some other city.
The room I booked tonight is a few block away from Bangkok’s boring red light district. I guess I will go walk around a bit to see if there is any excitement going on.
Hasta la próxima vez mi gente bonita,
a1globetrotter
