Sunday, May 07, 2006
What do you get if you:
1. Ask all the local Chinese members of your chess club and other random Chinese nerds to move to an island.
2. Kick out anyone remotely attractive.
3. Ask the remainding members to build up a country.
Then, you get Singapore. A country amazingly clean and developed, but also incredibly boring. The nerds have really gone crazy here, and the only thing to do is shopping. A rebel is someone who dares to chew a gum in public. Yuka and I had smuggled in some chewing gum from Japan, and we secretly chewed some gum after a spicy meal. Seldom have I felt more like living on the wild side.
There are fees and penalties for everything, and you are not even allowed to drink water on the train. Not to forget that it is extremely hot the entire year. I think anyone considering to live here should be granted temporary insanity.
Well, I love to exaggerate, but Singapore is really easy to make fun of. And I have not even started commenting on the pigeon English. Ra!
1. Ask all the local Chinese members of your chess club and other random Chinese nerds to move to an island.
2. Kick out anyone remotely attractive.
3. Ask the remainding members to build up a country.
Then, you get Singapore. A country amazingly clean and developed, but also incredibly boring. The nerds have really gone crazy here, and the only thing to do is shopping. A rebel is someone who dares to chew a gum in public. Yuka and I had smuggled in some chewing gum from Japan, and we secretly chewed some gum after a spicy meal. Seldom have I felt more like living on the wild side.
There are fees and penalties for everything, and you are not even allowed to drink water on the train. Not to forget that it is extremely hot the entire year. I think anyone considering to live here should be granted temporary insanity.
Well, I love to exaggerate, but Singapore is really easy to make fun of. And I have not even started commenting on the pigeon English. Ra!
Wednesday, May 03, 2006
We flew yesterday from Siem Reap to Phnom Penh with SilkAir, which is a short flight at approximately 30 minutes. After arriving in Phnom Penh and having picked up our luggage, we were immediately approached by numerous taxi and bike drivers. Since it had been raining, we settled for a taxi driver for $7, despite that fact that a bike would be cheaper at $2.
Anyway, we clearly said that he should take us to the main bus station as we had to get on a bus to Sihanoukville. However, we quickly understood that we were in trouble when the driver insisted there were no more buses for Sihanoukville that day. Since it was barely 11:30 in the morning, we knew that he was lying, and his plan was obviously to have us stay in one of his recommended hotels overnight (with a nice commission to him, of course) or to have us go to Sihanoukville by taxi.
Rather than taking us to the main bus station or anywhere with buses to Sihanoukville, he dropped us off in the Dang Kor Market, which is located in the middle of nowhere. Our taxi was quickly surrounded on all sides by excited taxi drivers, who were certain that they would be able to fool a couple of dumb foreigners. Yuka was of course scared to death, and there were not a single foreigner to be seen anywhere. Luckily, Yuka had noticed that the Intercontinental Hotel was located just a few blocks away, so we relatively calmly walked to the hotel and got the help we needed. After an absolutely delicious buffet lunch at the hotel, we hotel provided us with tickets for the Sihanoukville express bus and drove us to the bus stop. Thanks to the nice people at the Intercontinental hotel, we were able to get to our destination without any problems.
Anyway, we clearly said that he should take us to the main bus station as we had to get on a bus to Sihanoukville. However, we quickly understood that we were in trouble when the driver insisted there were no more buses for Sihanoukville that day. Since it was barely 11:30 in the morning, we knew that he was lying, and his plan was obviously to have us stay in one of his recommended hotels overnight (with a nice commission to him, of course) or to have us go to Sihanoukville by taxi.
Rather than taking us to the main bus station or anywhere with buses to Sihanoukville, he dropped us off in the Dang Kor Market, which is located in the middle of nowhere. Our taxi was quickly surrounded on all sides by excited taxi drivers, who were certain that they would be able to fool a couple of dumb foreigners. Yuka was of course scared to death, and there were not a single foreigner to be seen anywhere. Luckily, Yuka had noticed that the Intercontinental Hotel was located just a few blocks away, so we relatively calmly walked to the hotel and got the help we needed. After an absolutely delicious buffet lunch at the hotel, we hotel provided us with tickets for the Sihanoukville express bus and drove us to the bus stop. Thanks to the nice people at the Intercontinental hotel, we were able to get to our destination without any problems.
Monday, May 01, 2006
After having spent just over 30 hours in Cambodia, I still do not have anything negative to say about the country. The people are dirt poor, but still they are constantly smiling and being polite. In addition, the food is excellent, and we have not had any upset stomachs so far (though we are staying clear of ice cream and salads).
However, the wealth gap is enormous. Outside the five star hotel we are staying in Siem Riap, there are children and adults sleeping on the street. There are numerous beggars with all kinds of different malformations, and these obviously overwhelm the relatively rich Western tourists visiting the area.
After arriving yesterday afternoon, we hurried off to Angkor Wat to view a splendid sunset. What surprised me when I started reading about the area was that there is not just one temple, but instead numerous temples and other buildings spread out over an enormous area. However, visiting the different sites is easy, and a driver with an air-conditioned car can be hired for $25 a day. Hiring a tuk-tuk is obviously much cheaper, though I have not checked the price. Since the standard of living is quite low, we tip everyone quite liberally, but still prices are very low if you take care to eat outside the five stars hotels.
Our driver has told us a few interesting things, first of all that a license is not required to drive a motor bike in Cambodia. We often see three people riding on one motor bike (sometimes four if you include babies), and of course no one is wearing helmets. An interesting concept if you ask me.
It was 37 degrees Celsius when we arrived yesterday afternoon around 3 PM, and it is even warmer at noon when it gets unbearably hot. For that reason, most tourists take a break from around 11 AM until around 2 or 3 PM. I would almost prefer the cold in Norway to the incredible heat here in Cambodia, but I guess Japan provides a good compromise with relatively tolerable weather throughout the year.
I guess I have not managed to insult anyone in this column, and I am sorry if anyone is disappointed. Usually I get tired of the countries that I visit after a few days, thus you will soon find out what I dislike about Cambodia. The problem is that I have yet to find out myself.
However, the wealth gap is enormous. Outside the five star hotel we are staying in Siem Riap, there are children and adults sleeping on the street. There are numerous beggars with all kinds of different malformations, and these obviously overwhelm the relatively rich Western tourists visiting the area.
After arriving yesterday afternoon, we hurried off to Angkor Wat to view a splendid sunset. What surprised me when I started reading about the area was that there is not just one temple, but instead numerous temples and other buildings spread out over an enormous area. However, visiting the different sites is easy, and a driver with an air-conditioned car can be hired for $25 a day. Hiring a tuk-tuk is obviously much cheaper, though I have not checked the price. Since the standard of living is quite low, we tip everyone quite liberally, but still prices are very low if you take care to eat outside the five stars hotels.
Our driver has told us a few interesting things, first of all that a license is not required to drive a motor bike in Cambodia. We often see three people riding on one motor bike (sometimes four if you include babies), and of course no one is wearing helmets. An interesting concept if you ask me.
It was 37 degrees Celsius when we arrived yesterday afternoon around 3 PM, and it is even warmer at noon when it gets unbearably hot. For that reason, most tourists take a break from around 11 AM until around 2 or 3 PM. I would almost prefer the cold in Norway to the incredible heat here in Cambodia, but I guess Japan provides a good compromise with relatively tolerable weather throughout the year.
I guess I have not managed to insult anyone in this column, and I am sorry if anyone is disappointed. Usually I get tired of the countries that I visit after a few days, thus you will soon find out what I dislike about Cambodia. The problem is that I have yet to find out myself.
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