MoCarson.com: Travel tips, Asia: Cambodia, Indonesia, India, Japan, Laos, Malaysia, Nepal, Sri Lanka, Thailand, Philippines, Singapore, Hong Kong

Who can even say the name Cambodia without thinking of the horrors of Pol Pot and the incredible tragedy that a country can be forced to endure. The image of "The Killing Fields" stays somewhere in your mind all the time you are in Cambodia. The only place I have visited in Cambodia is Siam Reap, the home of the temples of Angkor Wat. Siam Reap is in the Northwest corner of Cambodia, a short flight from Bangkok.

The first question everyone asks is "did you feel safe there". For the most part, yes I did feel safe. Because Cambodia is desperate for hard currency and is trying very hard to attract tourists they have made the area around Siam Reap fairly safe. At one point, in a remote part of the jungle, some soldiers stopped me and tried to get me to buy some replica badges. This was the only time I felt intimidated, my guide told me to ignore them and we walked around them. The other time where things seemed a bit risky was on a trip north to Banteay Srei. Some of the guide books warn against going to this temple as you are out of the main tourist region and there is the possibility of bandits and all of the land mines may not be cleared. We stuck to the main road and saw a lot of rural Cambodia on the trip north. The temple is one of the older temples in Cambodia (9th century) and is well worth the trip. Along with Banteay Srei and Angkor Wat a couple of the other temples I really enjoyed were:

If you have the money, I strongly recommend hiring a guide. I hired a car and a guide through the hotel for $45 a day. The guide was very knowledgeable, I learned about the temples and about life in Cambodia. It made a big difference in how much I enjoyed the trip.

I took a business trip to China in April of 2002 to visit Shanghai, Tian Jin and Beijing. I had very little time to do anything but work in Shainhai and Tian Jin but took a couple of days in Beijing to look around. On the Saturday I had there I hired a driver to take me to Simatai to see the great wall. There are places that are closer but I had read that this gets less tourists and was a more pleasent experience. While there were quite a few people there most (85%) were Chinese and it never felt that crowded. This part of the great wall is built on the side of the mountains and is steep in places. All in all I enjoyed it and

n November of 2001 I actually had an opportunity to go back to Hong Kong for a longer trip - 3 days in total, including a ferry ride into China for a day. Hong Kong is a dynamic city with lots of food and things to do. I did not have my camera as I was there for business but I did visit the wet market (something quite exciting for an American) and took a ferry out to one of the islands to eat fresh seafood.

In November of 2001 I actually had an opportunity to go back to Hong Kong for a longer trip - 3 days in total, including a ferry ride into China for a day. Hong Kong is a dynamic city with lots of food and things to do. I did not have my camera as I was there for business but I did visit the wet market (something quite exciting for an American) and took a ferry out to one of the islands to eat fresh seafood.
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India

India is an adventure in many ways and it is a very difficult place for travel. None of the planes I took there left on time, driving is worse than anywhere I have been and nothing else seems to ever work well. In spite of this there is an incredible amount to see, even in the small portion that I visited. I spent a couple of days in Varanasi, a couple in Khajuraho, a couple in Agra and a drive from Delhi to Sariska to Agra and back to Delhi. Of these places I enjoyed Khajuraho the most, not just because of the beautiful temples but because the town is easy to get around in, travel there is a great bargin and there were few tourists. I also spent some time in Panna National Park, I did not see a tiger but I enjoyed the time there. In fact my great regret in India was never seeing a Tiger. Varanasi was difficult and expensive, made more so by the lack of good guides. Spending time on the Ganges made up for most of the problems, particularly a boat ride at sunrise. Time spent in Sarnath was also a highlight. I went to Sariska on a tiger search but ended up enjoying the trip in to the rural parts of India more than the park itself. Even with the terrible roads and the bad drivers it is still wonderful to be in rural India, I will go back and see more of Rajasthan. Except for the Taj Mahal Agra was just another crowded city. The food in India was great, the people are friendly and there is just so much to see.

One experience I will always remember about India. As much as I loved Khajuraho the Taj Mahal is one of the few places that turned out to be everything that I had expected. It is really a magnificent place. I ended up spending a total of eight hours there, seeing the building in different lights and from different views. It is crowded and the city of Agra is polluted, noisy and crowded but that just makes the grounds of the Taj seem like more of an oasis.

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Indonesia

My experience in Indonesia is limited: 3 times on business with a side trip to Yogyakarta and a few free days in Jakarta. From this limited view I have a good opinion of the country and would like to spend more time there. Of course you hear so much about the problems, but I was there for the first elections, a time of great unrest and never experienced any bad feelings from the people. I have flown within Indonesia, hired a driver and taken the train. The train trip from Jakarta to Bandung is ok if you go during the day. The first third of the trip takes you through the sprawl of Jakarta, but the last part of the trip is picturesque in places. The train trip from Bandung to Yogyakarta is 9 hours long and I made the trip at night so there was nothing to see. Flying is the best option if you have the money. Jakarta is hard to get excited about, although it does have some hidden charms. However, the real beauty of Indonesia is elsewhere.

Like Angkor Wat, as much as you may hear about Borobudur you will not be prepared for what you see. When I went it was hot and crowded. There is a lot of activity surrounding the temple and hundreds of kids trying to sell you something, however, once you enter the actual temple the kids leave you alone. I recommend watching the videotape at the visitor's center to learn more about this amazing place. You should be prepared to spend a lot of time here; there are over a thousand stone carvings that tell the story of Buddha's life. The work that it must have taken to complete this 4-story temple in the 8th and 9th centuries is hard to comprehend. Even when the grounds themselves are crowded, you can find some quiet time on the different levels. At one point in history Buddhists from all around Asia made the trip to see this temple and I would recommend that anyone with an interest in temples make the trip also.

This is a Hindu temple that post dates Borobudur and is not as well restored. However it is worth visiting. Again there are wonderful stone carvings, this time telling Hindu religious stories. There is also a park next with shade, a nice place to rest after all of the hiking around temples.

After stopping in Narita airport 20 or 25 times I decided it was time to actually spend some time in Japan. I took a bullet train to Kyoto where I spent a couple of days and then a couple in Yokahama. Everything they say about Japan is true, things work and work well. Trains are on time, taxi drivers are polite, every where is clean and the people are extremely helpful. It can be easy to get lost with when so few signs are in English but asking for help has its own difficulties. People will actually take a train the opposite way they are going to make sure you get to the place you ask about. They will walk you through the station to get to the gate - there is no end to what people will do to help you get to the place you are going. I stopped asking simple questions because I felt bad about putting people out. For all of this politeness Japan can still be a more lonely place then most. There is a lack of warmth and almost nobody can or will speak English so it seemed harder to me to make friends then almost anywhere I have been. There is a lot to see, Kyoto is full of temples and gardens that highlight the beauty if Japanese culture. It was cold when I was there and there were not a lot of people - I just stumbled

around town and saw all that I could see. I spent a day in Nara, with a nice girl from the tourist association (I wish I had done this more, these guides are great). Nara has a Buddha that is spectacular and the town itself is easy to deal with. I went to Yokahama mostly because it was on the way to the airport and was a good staging point to get to Kamakura, which is another great town to visit with another big Buddha. The food was exciting, mostly because I rarely knew what I was ordering! But even with the language difficulties I never had a bad meal. One other thing is true, Japan is not cheap, particularly after spending time in southeast Asia.

One experience I will always remember about Japan: Although I had a lot of fun in Japan and enjoyed the sights and food - the best interaction I had was with a mother and daughter I met on the train ti Kamakura. The daughter was about 24 and wanted to practice her English so we talked a lot and went through her English flash cards. It was so difficult to find people to talk to on the trains that I ended up really enjoying this time.

Laos

Laos is a strange experience - a very poor country, governed by communists and without much of a tourist industry. I managed to go to the one place there were a lot of travelers - Luang Prabang. This is a very nice town located in Northern Laos on the Mekong River. I found it to be a very warm place where everyone wanted to talk about America and wanted to know what it would take to get a factory built in Laos. The town is full of temples and there is plenty to do. I hired a guide from Inter-Lao Tourism for $40 a day (including driver and car) and had a great experience with him. His was a former Pathet Lao army member and had studied in the Soviet Union. Very knowledgeable, interesting to talk to and we really had a good time. Logistics are a bit difficult - I flew Thai airways to Vientiane and then the fun started. I had been told there was a connecting flight that I could catch but it was no longer flying and I had to wait until the afternoon flight. There is no booking the flight ahead of time and I had to go standby, although I was virtually assured of getting on, as the fare for me was $60 while the Lao people were paying about $6. You can only pay cash (Thai Baht are not a problem).

My guide and I took a trip up the Mekong to the Pak Ou Caves, a place where Buddhist pilgrims have filled the cave with statues of the Buddha. The caves themselves are only so-so but the trip up the river is fun. We stopped a couple of villages and met some local people. We spent the afternoon on a driving trip to see some waterfalls outside of town. The waterfalls are very nice, and again we stopped at some villages on the way.

The rest of the time I spent wondering around town, eating great food and visiting temples. This is a town where it is easy to feel comfortable and there is not shortage of people to talk with (if you can find someone who speaks English).

Two experiences I will always remember about Laos. First, the young monks will sometimes stop people on the street and ask them to come in and teach English. I said that I would love to and told them I would be there at 5:00 PM the next day. It must have been about 105 in the classroom but we had a blast. They specifically wanted me to cover tenses so we spent our time working through the difference between past, present and future tense in sentence examples. If I had not had to get back the next day I would have volunteered for another session.

Second, so many of my memorable experiences come from disagreements with taxi drivers. I went in to Vientiane from the airport to have lunch. The taxi cost me 5000 Kyps into town. When I was ready to head back to the airport a taxi driver quoted me a price if 1500 Kyps - I said great and hopped in. When we got to the airport he told me he wanted 15,000 Kyps. I hate being scammed by taxi drivers and we stood out there in the 100 plus heat arguing for 15 minutes. Finally, I threw 5000 Kyps at him and went inside. It was not for a few minutes that I realized that the entire argument had been over about $1.25 at the current exchange rate. Back to Top | See the Photos

Malaysia

I have made two trips to Kuching, one a long weekend on vacation and one week on business. Kuching is the capital of Sawawak, one of the two Malaysian states on the Island of Borneo. Kuching is a clean and pleasant city that acts a kind of a gateway to the Indonesian part of Borneo. I have also been to Kuala Lumpur several times on business. I have very little to say about KL, except that the nightlife is great and there is not much else to see there.

There is a remarkable amount to do around Kuching, even if you only have a couple of days. I went to the beach, and animal preserve and hiked around a national park. The shopping is great, with lots of artifacts and local crafts. When I was at Bako National Park, I saw (but could not get a good photo) the very odd big nosed monkey. I hired a guide and driver from the hotel. It made wish I had more time to get to the interior of Borneo. On another day I went to the Semonggok Wildlife Rehabilitation Sanctuary, a place where Orangutans are trained to live in the wild again. On the way there I tried Durian, the stinky fruit, for the first time.

One Experience I will always remember about Malaysia. At the wildlife sanctuary I saw two Orangutans walk up to the feeding station hand in hand. These are not normally social animals but for some reason this male and female where hanging out together. It was really very touching the way they walked together. Back to Top | See the Photos

Myanmar

There is a real moral dilemma in visiting Myanmar. The government is very repressive and not something that I really want to support in any way. And it is hard not to support it as they have their hands in everything that goes on there. On the other hand when I actually talk to people there they are happy to have the chance to make money and talk to outsiders. I hired a guide and spent the day learning what it is like to live under a repressive government. Each person I met, even though these were all people opposed to the current government, told me they were glad to have visitors. A couple of logistics notes. One, getting a visa if you are an American can be a trying experience. I spent over 3 hours at the Myanmar embassy in Bangkok, had to go through a personal interview and had to write that I was not going to cause trouble. Second, when you get to the airport in Yangon you have to buy $300 worth of foreign exchange certificates.

The main purpose of my trip was to see this Shwedagon Temple and it is really quite a sight. The gold spire and the jewels in the top all make for a fascinating sight. The temples in Myanmar are very different than what I have seen in other parts of Southeast Asia - more ostentatious and gaudy. Plan on visiting in the late evening or early morning, the light is softer and it is cooler. I also stopped at Chauk Htat Gyi Pagoda This reclining Buddha is worth seeing if you are in town. It is 70 meters long and the feet have inscriptions on them that pertain to the Buddhist religion. There are several places nearby to get your fortune told another unique aspect of Buddhism in Myanmar. In addition to visiting these and other temples I spent a lot of time in the markets and on the street talking to people.

Two experiences I will always remember about Myanmar. First, I decided to exchange my foreign exchange certificates back to dollars (the reason being that I wanted to spread hard currency to the locals). This involved going to a black market exchange, with armed guards in the back of a small shop, and was scary. I could have been arrested and deported, I usually do not take this kind of risk.

Second. I wanted to get away from the tourist area to eat dinner at a local restaurant. I had no problem getting there (the Green Elephant) but when dinner was over there was not a taxi to take me back to the hotel. I waited on the side of the road for 45 minutes until an off duty taxi turned around and picked me up. The driver and his brother were in the front seat, both drunk and chewing beetal nuts, while I rode in back with the wife of one of them. It was an insane trip, he drove like crazy and would stop all the time to spit.
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Nepal was a difficult trip for me. Part of this was due to my own errors and part was due to an inept security guard. I made arrangements to fly to Nepalganj so I could have one more attempt at seeing a tiger. I worked with a local agency in Kathmandu to go to a decent hotel near the park. Somehow, and I do not think it was on purpose, I ended up at a very rough place, cold and full of bugs. I do not know how the backpacker crowd deals with this! I could probably have dealt with it had I know what I was getting into but because I had not packed for this kind of adventure it just did not work. Once the owner knew I was unhappy he really went all out to make sure I did not get anything I was there for. No jungle trek and then no car to the airport. My first time hitchhiking in a long time -

and no tiger!. Then to top it off when I got to the airport a solider searching my bags dropped my cameras and broke both bodies. I ended up having to buy a new camera in Kathmandu. In spite of this I liked Nepal and will go back. I spent my time seeing all of the temples and old cities around Kathmandu. This is a great place to hang out and there is a lot to see although I would have been happy with the original 3 days in the valley. I was lucky to get to visit Dakshinkali temple on a Saturday when it is going full speed. This is a temple where people bring animals to be blessed and then slaughtered and it is a blood bath. There must have been 200 people lined up and the action is non-stop. I visited all of the other temples, did some shopping and ate a lot of good food. Due to the increased security and the low season, the nightlife was low key but I can see how much fun it would be when the place is full.

One experience I will always remember about Nepal: I did get one nice hike in and saw the mountains from afar. I hiked from Nagarkot to Changunarayan Temple. This was an easy hike but wonders through lots of farms and some small villages. The people (except for the lower part of the hike) were very warm and there were no tourists. The views of the mountains are great. It made me want to go back for real hiking.

Thailand

There is a reason that so many people visit Thailand - it is safe, the food is wonderful and the people are extremely warm and easy to get along with. I have been to Thailand several times on business and a couple of times for vacation. I also used it a base for travel to Laos, Cambodia and Myanmar. I will put in a plug for one of my favorite restaurants, Cabbages and Condoms, located just off Sukumvit. Great food and they support family planning around Thailand. Like everyone says, Bangkok is also a place for nightlife. Everything you hear is true and more!

Unlike most places I never get tired of Thailand, there is always something new to do or to see. Over time I have visited most of the temples in Bangkok and they all have a unique feeling. One place I keep going back to is Wat Pra Keo and the Grand Palace. There is so much to see here and every time I find something new. It is always crowded, full of tourists and locals and always hot, still I keep going back. One time when I had more time I went north to Ayuthaya to see the old ruins and some of the new temples. Further north was Lopburi, where I saw Wat Mahathat, a 12th century temple partially restored. This is also the home of the Monkey Shrine, and hundreds of monkeys live at the ruins and around the temple.

In June of 2002 I went back to Thailand with my nephew Levi and my friend Kevin. We spent a day in Bangkok and then headed up to Chaing Mai where rented a car. Spent a day exploring the area around Chaing Mai (where I bashed up the car) and then drove to Pai. Stopped a couple of times to hike up to some falls and found a roadside stand where the woman made the best fried rice. Spent some time in Pai including a couple of days hiking to see the hill tribes. Pai was a lot of fun even if it is full of tourists and a backpacker haven. We then headed back to Bangkok where we watched soccer (world cup) and had a some more great food. Great time.

One experience I will always remember about Thailand: while I was sitting at an outdoor bar on Christmas, a man dressed as Santa Clause, rode up on an elephant. Combine that with hookers wearing red stocking caps and you have Christmas in South East Asia.
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Philippines

I have spent a lot of time in the Philippines but very little of it has been on fun stuff. I am always there for work. The two trips I have taken are to Cebu and to Batangas. Both were trips to enjoy some snorkeling and beach time. I am embarrassed to admit this as there is a lot to see and do in the Philippines and I hope to spend some quality time there at some point. Back to Top | See the Photos

Due to the never ending flight delays with Jet Airways from India my trip to Sri Lanka was a day shorter than I had planned and I ended up regretting not having more time there. Sri Lanka is a lot of fun and some of the sights are world class. I spent all of my time in the triangle made by Anuradhapura, Polonnaruwa and Sigiriya. Anuradhapura is older and the temples are not in as good condition but there is a lot to see including a Buddha that is supposed to be 2300 years old. Polonnaruwa is younger and therefor in better shape with many nice temples to see. Sigiriya is a fortress built on a mountain and has some cave paintings that are 1500 years old. I would like to have been able to spend time in the jungle and the beach, that will have to wait until the next visit. Sri Lanka is like Thailand in sense that it is very easy to meet people and make friends - everyone wants to talk and it is not the hustle of India. This is a place that has a lot of heart and warmth.

One experience I will always remember about Sri Lanka: visiting the Dambulla Temple caves. These old and very beautiful caves have paintings of Buddha. I was lucky to be there when there were no visitors and I could just look at (no pictures allowed) all the details with nobody around.
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Singapore

I have even less to say about Singapore. It is a beautiful city and often can be a nice break from the rest of Asia. I spent an afternoon in little India where I enjoyed the shopping and the food. Other than that it was all business. Back to Top | See the Photos