usinthekingdom

Tuesday, March 31, 2015

Gauntlet - Coda: Koh Ta Kiev

Koh Ta Kiev, Kompong Som province, Cambodia - 14 August-2 September, 2014 - After sorting some stuff out at home, it was time to relax for a couple of weeks at a very remote, hidden place.

There was a very strange and penniless Englishman on the island making a subsistence living off the land. His foraging skills, however, only allowed him to cruelly roast alive a giant hermit crab. For the sake of his dignity, I shall not post his name or face here.

Upon interrogation the cows told m: "WE RUN DIS BEACH."

Aforementioned Englishmen would also fill his stomach by chasing these small frill-necked lizards around with a machete, brutally hacking them into pieces, and then nibbling on the remnants of their crispy charred skin over the fire.

Best of friends.

See the rest of the our Cambodia/Thailand/Burma/Laos trip:

Episode 1: Pailin, Cambodia
Episode 2: Bangkok, Thailand
Episode 3: Mae Sot, Thailand
Episode 4: Yangon, Myanmar
Episode 5: Bagan, Myanmar
Episode 6: Mandalay, Myanmar
Episode 7: Vientiane and Vang Vieng, Laos

Gauntlet - Episode 7: Vientiane and Vang Vieng

Vietiane city, Vang Vieng town, Laos - July 14-18, 2014 - By way of a train from Bangkok, we at last met my mother for a four day holiday in the Laos mountains before going back to Battambang. Reading the newspapers was interesting, as every article and writer was in complete support of the local government. Meanwhile it called backpackers in Vang Vieng "rowdy", and expressed a desire for more Chinese and Japanese tourism there. I would come triumphantly head-to-head with the remnants of the tubing scene on one of the nights I spent in Vang Vieng, but you can ask me about that story if you see me.

I read this very carefully. And happily agreed to "not...keep quiet".

Don't look at the tourists. Just focus on those mountains.

See the rest of the our Cambodia/Thailand/Burma/Laos trip:
Episode 1: Pailin, Cambodia
Episode 2: Bangkok, Thailand
Episode 3: Mae Sot, Thailand
Episode 4: Yangon, Myanmar
Episode 5: Bagan, Myanmar
Episode 6: Mandalay, Myanmar
Coda: Sihanoukville, Cambodia

Saturday, January 17, 2015

Gauntlet - Episode 6: Mandalay

Mandalay city, Myanmar - July 12-13, 2014 - A one night stop in Mandalay would take us back to Bangkok. The city had an atmosphere that was reminiscent of Phnom Penh five years ago, and a noticeably problematic political situation. I felt my time there to be too short.

At the time we visited there had been rioting, and the city was on a 9pm curfew. Here were the streets of Mandalay at 9pm, ruled only by dogs and military police.

The same intersection at 9am the following morning.

Mandalay has a haunted feel.

Betel nut spit.

The betel nuts themselves, soaked in coffee. Tasty, tangy.

Burmese cinema.

Our hotel. HAUNT-ED.

See the rest of the our Cambodia/Thailand/Burma/Laos trip:
Episode 1: Pailin, Cambodia
Episode 2: Bangkok, Thailand
Episode 3: Mae Sot, Thailand
Episode 4: Yangon, Myanmar
Episode 5: Bagan, Myanmar
Episode 7: Vientiane and Vang Vieng, Laos
Coda: Sihanoukville, Cambodia

Sunday, November 30, 2014

Gauntlet - Episode 5: Bagan

Bagan province, Myanmar - July 10-12, 2014 - Bagan is perhaps what Siem Reap was like twenty years ago, but with horsecarts. I did not care much for the town itself, it was already a tourist area. It is bizarre walking in from the dust into a gourmet Italian restaurant. The place was thronging as it was a Buddhist event.