Trip Report: Discovering Nicaragua

Every year I would organize a trip during the week of Thanksgiving for my close friends and this was my third trip. After visiting South Africa in 2006 and Egypt in 2007, we all wanted something different this year. Perhaps something less exhausting that would give us a break after putting up with the tiresome travel itinerary we had for Egypt. Several destination suggestions were thrown my way, but one that got my attention was Nicaragua. I had read somewhere earlier this year that Nicaragua is fast becoming a key tourist destination in Central America. The article even described it as "The Next Costa Rica". Wanting to be at the forefront of tourism, I decided that this would be the destination for our '08 Thanksgiving trip. When my friends all talk about Nicaragua as the place to be five years from now, I want to be able to tell them that this is old news and I was there many moons ago. Yes, please meet the bitchy and snooty side of Andrew Lim.

After doing some research, I contacted a local tour operator called "ORO TRAVEL" (http://www.orotravel.com/) to set up a private tour for me and five of my friends (Peter, Alison, Ein, Cynthia and Geoff). Our itinerary would be for 8 days. We would travel to Granada, Ometepe Island and San Juan Del Sur. This appears to be a popular itinerary for first time visitors. My jaw nearly dropped when I received the price quote from the ORO TRAVEL rep. It was slightly over USD500 per person and was certainly an amount we were happy to pay considering how much we have lost in our investment and retirement accounts as of late. We signed up for the tour without any hesitation. By the way, I would highly recommend ORO TRAVEL to anyone who wants to travel to Nicaragua. It is reliable and the customer service is top notch. I also highly recommend our tour guide, Julio Flores. He speaks very good English and can be contacted via email at julio@orotravel.com.

Many of my friends in the States expressed concern when I told them we were going to Nicaragua. A lot of them still think that Nicaragua is a dangerous place because of what transpired in the 80s. Leave it to us to be so paranoid about other countries. Contrary to the general impression the country has over here, Nicaragua has the lowest crime rate among the Central American countries. We felt very safe when we were there. I would not say the same for its neighboring countries like El Salvador. Some hot dude who sat next to me on the plane ride over was from El Salvador and in our conversation about the safety of his gang-ridden country, he reassured me that the gangs only attack the locals and usually would leave tourists alone. That's quite some reassurance if you ask me.

We started our tour in Granada. the fourth most populous city in Nicaragua and has quite a history. The city has a lot of Spanish colonial buildings dating back to the 1880s. We visited the Masaya Volcano, Catarina (with a lookout point of the Apoyo Lagoon), the local Craft market and the city of Granada. We also did a boat tour on Lake Nicaragua and a canopy tour at the Mombacho Volcano. The canopy tour was my first and it was very fun. I felt like Tarzan except I wasn't wearing a loincloth.

We headed to Ometepe Island on our third day. It is an island on Lake Nicaragua formed by two volcanoes, Concepcion Volcano and Maderas Volcano. We visited a couple of places on this island during our two days' stay here but honestly, this was the most boring part of our trip. The island is really rugged and lacks proper tourist infrastructures. The island is also filled with little insects and creatures that could be found even in our chalets. Some people may find this fascinating but urban snobs like us cannot appreciate nature that much. Fortunately, the delicious grilled tilapia served at the hotel restaurant and a few games of UNO helped our time pass a little quicker. When Julio mentioned to us in the van that this island is very peaceful and has had no major violent occurrences in the past, Peter leaned over and whispered to me that the only violence that would have happened was when residents/visitors who were bored out of their skulls fought to get on the ferry to cross back to the mainland. I burst out laughing.

Our last stop was San Juan Del Sur, a former fishing village now popular with surfers and beach seekers. It is a crescent-shaped bay and has several spectacular beaches nearby. Aside from taking a trip to see sea turtles lay eggs, we didn't do any sightseeing here. We just sat by the hotel pool and ate Asian snacks all day long. We love to eat. Some of us also love to shop.

One of things I enjoyed the most in San Juan Del Sur was my daily sunset run. The locals would look at me funny since they don't really run for the sake of good health. When they run, they are usually running away from stray dogs (plenty of stray dogs on the streets of Nicaragua). They really don't need to run since almost everyone there is skinny. We didn't see any overweight individuals save the American tourists and the owner of a local ice cream shop in San Juan Del Sur. I am guessing he did way too much taste testing over the years -- a clear occupational hazard for someone who owns/works in an ice cream parlor.

Overall we enjoyed our trip to Nicaragua. The people there were friendly, the seafood was yummy and things were so inexpensive. I would consider this an eco-trip since we did a considerable amount of nature activities like standing on lava soil and having lunch at a farm (ha ha. what else do you expect?). Alison who just went to Costa Rica earlier this year told me that she actually prefers Nicaragua over Costa Rica. So for those of you who love Costa Rica, it's time to turn your attention to Nicaragua but please don't tell too many people about it. An influx of tourists will only ruin the unique charm of this developing country.

Andrew recommends:

1. Granada

Hotel: Hotel El Patio del Malinche (http://www.patiodelmalinche.com/english/)

Restaurants:
A. El Bucanero (facing the Apoyo Lagoon). This place serves the best ceviche at $2-$3 per order.
B. El Zaguan. This is notably the best restaurant in Granada. Serves a great steak and other meat and seafood dishes.

2. Ometepe (if you can skip it, skip it!)

Hotel: Villa Paraiso Hotel (http://www.villaparaiso.com.ni/welcome.htm).
* Make sure you ask for a chalet facing the water when you book a room there.

Restaurant: the restaurant in Villa Paraiso Hotel. The grilled tilapia is to die for.

3. San Juan Del Sur

Hotel: La Posada Azul aka "The Blue Inn" (http://www.laposadaazul.com)
* Highly recommended! Maria, the manager and her staff will take great care of you. This hotel is owned by a couple who lives in Santa Fe, New Mexico.

Restaurant: El Timon Bar (the best seafood in town), Pizzeria San Juan (serving tasty pizza and pasta and is owned by an Italian guy who moved here 20 years ago).
* in general, the food in San Juan Del Sur is not as good as the food in Granada.

Trip Report: Even My Toes Are Enjoying The Sunshine!

Here in the lovely Puerto Vallarta, Mexico soaking up the sun and the margaritas. This place is a good getaway for a long weekend. The Sheraton Bunganvillas Resort is nothing to write home about, and the water here pales much in comparison to the blue Carribbean Sea, but the breezy wind and the beautiful sunshine that greet me here make this visit worthwhile.

Puerto Vallarta has an old town that is both charming and touristy. Like Cancun, you will find an abundance of American restaurant chains here. Fortunately, there are local restaurants that are much better than the boring American crap. For an avant garde Mexican cuisine experience, I highly recommend Los Xitomates (www.losxitomates.com). The Mexican chef/owner had worked in several North American and European cities before deciding to return to his home country and be his own boss. The food here is muy delicioso. Another upscale restaurant that I like is called El Andariego (www.elandariego.com.mx). It serves traditional Mexican cuisine with a live Mariachi band. If you are in the mood for a tourist trap that serves good Mexican food (and margaritas the size of a birthday cake) , try Pipis (http://www.pipis.com.mx/). It has the tacky decors and at least eight pinatas hanging from the ceiling. Make sure to hit one on your way out. Just don’t hit one of the servers. They wear colorful outfits and some are on the rounder side.

One relaxing massage (legit nevertheless), two great novels (one about a guy who used to be a circus vet while the other about a woman who likes to eat and travel ), three fantastic meals, countless margaritas and sun-bathing sessions later, I feel like I have had a truly amazing weekend here. When advising me of the weather forecast upon my arrival at the hotel, the butler on my floor (another reason why my weekend here was fantastic) said “Senor Lim, it will be sunny all weekend. There will be so much sun here that even your toes will enjoy the sunshine!”. Fidel was indeed right. My toes are now burned and wrinkly like raisins. By the way, his name was Fidel Castro. Fidel’s parents must have hated him when he was born. Nitwit also told me that he named his son the same name, as if the beatings in the playground while growing up didn’t teach him enough lesson. But wait, Mexicans don’t have the same anti feelings towards the former Cuban leader as the Americans do. Both Fidel Sr. and Fidel Jr. should be fine.

Trip Report: A Good Weekend Trip to Barcelona, Spain

People who know me know that I love Spain. It's a country that has so much to offer, and its laidback I-Need-My-Daily-Siesta lifestyle is just something that us overworked folks here in New York need to adopt badly. This wasn't my first trip to Barcelona (in fact, it was my fifth). But (ok readers, get your barf bag ready) this was a trip I took with Thomas over Valentine's day so it meant something special to me. The last trip before this was a while back so I really looked forward to returning to Barcelona again.

Nothing has really changed in Barcelona, except that the Euro is much higher now compared to the USD and everything seemed so much more expensive to us. The weather was absolutely gorgeous when we were there, considering it was the winter month of February. It was sunny and cool with temperature ranging in the high 50s everyday. I tried to indulge in some clothes shopping but the sizes appeared much smaller to me now (that's how I like to put it. The real reason is that my body size has gotten larger over the years!). We went to some great restaurants and ate really well (and you wonder why I could no longer buy clothes in Spain). We also did some walking tours on our own in several neighborhoods and visited several museums and churches. A lot of places are closed on Sundays and Mondays so please keep that in mind the next time you visit this city and plan accordingly. I highly recommend getting the Frommer's Barcelona Day by Day guidebook before you go. It really is a useful guide.

The restaurants I highly recommend in Barcelona are:

1. Cal-Pep
Placa des les Olles, 8
* locals/tourists clientele

2. Taller de Tapas
Placa Sant Josep Oriol, 9
* locals/tourists clientele

3. Inopia
C/ Tamarit 104
* predominantly locals clientele so knowledge of some basic Spanish would help.

4. Cor Caliu
C/ Roger de Lluria, 102
* predominantly locals clientele so so knowledge of some basic Spanish would help

All in all it was a great long weekend trip. However, Thomas and I have decided to stay away from Europe for a while until the US Dollars strengthen against the Euro. Having to pay 50% more for everything is not fun.

Trip Report: 9 Days in Egypt

Egypt was a country I always wanted to visit. My interest in visiting the country was not spurred by the repeated viewings of Brendan Frasier fighting off mummies in "The Mummy" and "The Mummy Returns". It was spurred by the accounts of all my friends who traveled to the country and saw the magnificent temples and pyramids. When my friends and I were deciding on where to go for our annual Thanksgiving trip earlier this year, I suggested Egypt and everyone in the group agreed that it was a good destination. We shopped around for a local tour agency and decided to sign up for a nine- day tour with a local company called Lady Egypt (http://www.ladyegypt.com/). Representatives from this company were not only professional but highly responsive and services were rendered to our satisfaction (save a few misses which were not their faults but their partners'). After months of planning and anticipation, we set out to this exotic country armed with an entry visa and a suitcase full of Asian snacks and instant noodles. There were six of us in total - Alison, Joyce, Peter, Dede, Ein and yours truly. For the next nine days, we would visit many tourist sights in Cairo, Luxor and Aswan and cruise up the Nile River.

The flights from New York to Cairo via Frankfurt on Singapore Airline (SQ) and Lufthansa Airline were largely uneventful. Service and inflight entertainment on SQ were excellent as always. We had to stop in Frankfurt for 10 hours so we took this opportunity to eat some average tasting German food , did some shopping and rested up a bit. We left Frankfurt in the evening and arrived Cairo in the wee hours of the morning. Upon arrival we were greeted by our rep from Lady Egypt. We then had to queue up in the long lines of passengers waiting to pass through the three immigration counters in the international terminal. Cairo International Airport was a rudimentary structure lacking the modern facilities of an international airport. Fortunately the government is building a new terminal to accommodate the growing number of international travelers to the country. Upon immigration clearance, we were transported to our hotel to catch some sleep. The first thing that greeted us at the hotel (and at every subsequent hotel we had stayed during the duration of our visit) was a metal detector. Talk about safety reassurance. We were briefed by our Cairo rep the next morning on our tour itinerary for the next nine days. We were also introduced to our English speaking tour guide, Mahmoud Elkomy. Mahmoud (a common name in the middle eastern countries like John or Rob) was a very funny tour guide who possessed great knowledge about the country (he can be reached via email at mahmoudtourguide@yahoo.com if you are interested in using his service)

We spent the following week visiting pyramids, temples and cruising on the famous Nile River. Our schedule was pretty hectic. We had to get up at the crack of dawn to visit these sights before they got too crowded. There were also some destinations where we needed to travel in groups of buses/vans led by the police convoy. The goal of such mandatory practice was to protect the foreign tourists from any terrorist attacks. Ever since the Egyptian militants killed a number of tourists in Luxor ten years ago, the Egyptian government has taken extra caution in protecting the tourists visiting its country. If you have Caucasian tourists who are Americans on board a bus or a van, they will even send a couple of soldiers with machine guns to be on the same vehicle with them. Apparently anti-American sentiment runs pretty high here, and we have our current administration to thank for that. I pity our Canadian friends (especially the Caucasian ones). For fear of being mistaken as Americans, they have been taking extra effort to tell people where they are from by sewing the Canadian flag on their caps, clothes and backpacks. As for us, since we are all Asians, we told everyone that we were from Malaysia. We were very popular with the locals -- apparently they love Malaysia (I don't know why - same national religion perhaps?). This much I know -- they buy a lot of TVs that are imported from Malaysia, like Panasonic TVs.

If there was a good time to visit Egypt weather wise, it would be the month of November, January and February. The weather we experienced was simply amazing. Sunny and breezy with temperature ranging in the high 70s to low 80s during the day and high 60s to low 70s during the night. Weather warmed up as we traveled from Cairo (North) to Aswan (South). However this was also the peak travel season in Egypt so every tourist sight we went to was simply packed to the brim with tourists.

Of the places we visited, the most memorable ones were the Pyramids and the Sphinx in Giza, the tombs in the Valley of the Kings, the Temple of Hatshepsut, the Temple in Abu Simbel, the Karnak Temple and the Nile River. Each temple/tomb has its unique history (dating back thousands of years) and intricate wall carvings. The only regrettable part with the wall carvings was that many of them were chiseled out during the colonization era by the Christians and Catholics who regarded those cravings as evil or demonic. It was sad to see these cravings being ruined that way. Our tour guide Mahmoud was very detailed in his explanation of the history of each temple and the Pharaoh/God that it was built for. But I could not remember the names of the Pharaohs that Mahmoud mentioned, save one female Pharaoh, Hatshepsut. She is undeniably my new idol given what she did to claim her throne. To get to power she married her own half brother and to maintain power later in her life she married off her own daughter to her half-son (whom her late husband had fathered with another woman). If Hatshepsut's life was made into a movie, Angelina Jolie would be the best actress to play her.

While we enjoyed visiting the pyramids and the temples and seeing the famous Nile River, we found our three-day cruise on the Nile River to be a boring experience. Given the size of the river the cruise was not a big ship so it doesn't have a lot of amenities like a standard cruise ship. We love shopping (well at least some of us do) so it killed us to find out that there were only two shops on the boat. Luckily one of them sells jewellery. One afternoon while Alison and I were reading on the sundeck and Dede was napping, the three hardcore shoppers (Peter, Ein and Joyce) decided to check out the jewellery shop and ended up spending two hours there. By the second hour of their visit, they were already on a first-name basis with the shop owner.

The food in Egypt is nothing to write home about. Nevertheless we managed to find our meals enjoyable, thanks to Peter who brought a suitcase full of Asian snacks, condiments and instant noodles. There were a few things we liked when we were there however. The falafels were not to be missed. There was also a meal called "Koshary" that we enjoyed a great deal. Koshary is a traditional Egyptian meal that consists of a strange combination of macaroni, spaghetti, rice, black lentils, chick peas, garlic sauce and a spicy tomato chili sauce, all topped with fried onions. Talk about a low carb dieter's nightmare. It's a perfect poor man's meal -- inexpensive and tasty. Koshary is usually sold by street vendors but for the best Koshary in Cairo, go to "Abu Tariq". Just ask your hotel/tour guide and they will tell you where it is. Down your Koshary with a glass of fresh squeezed sugar cane juice. In fact Alison liked it so much that she downed three mugs of it in one meal. She even pushed Peter out of the way to get to the sugar cane juice but that is a different story.

While we truly enjoyed the sights and the weather on our trip to Egypt, we found the Egyptians' overly aggressive behavior in asking for tips to be a major turn-off. Everywhere we went (including the bathrooms), we would encounter the locals asking us for tips. The train attendant on our sleeper train reminded us that we should tip him generously before we got off the train. The guy who demonstrated to us on how to make pots out of stones asked us for tips even though we had purchased some merchandise from his employer's store. Known locally as "Baksheesh", tips are apparently the backhand economy of Egypt. The argument is that the locals don't make enough money so they need tips to supplement their wages. From what I was told asking for "Baksheesh" is a common practice in Egypt and other North Africa countries. That's bull if you ask me. Look, I have been to other poor countries like Vietnam or Cambodia. While the locals in those Southeast Asian countries will try to sell you their merchandise in an aggressive manner, they will not stand there and just ask you for money without offering anything to you. To me asking for tips out right just comes across as greedy and rude. Anyway, here is a guide to how much you should tip when you are in Egypt:

Travel company's representative in each city 20-30 Egytian Pounds
Tour guide 40-60 Egyptian Pounds per day (more if you have group with more than 2 people)
Drivers 20-30 Egyptian Pounds per day (more if you have group with more than 2 people)
Cruise Staff 20-30 Egyptian Pounds per travelling member
Toilet attendant 1 Egyptian Pound per use

At time of writing, 1 USD equals 5.5 Egytian Pounds. When in doubt about how much to tip, always ask your tour guide. He/she can give you some guidelines to fair tipping.

Aside from having to tell off some locals for their overly aggressive behavior in asking for tips, we also had to fend off the annoying little Egyptian kids who would not leave us alone. It was our luck to encounter hordes of school kids on field trips everywhere we went. They saw us like they had never seen Asian people before. We were fine by those who asked us where we were from or what our names were (you know, little kids and their curiosity). But some crossed the line by touching our hair or chasing after us. Even the mild mannered Joyce started telling some kids off on the eighth day of our trip, and she was the one who chastised the rest of group for being mean to the kids at the beginning of the trip. Me? I just toyed with the kids who asked me questions or the locals who asked me for tips. I had to indulge in some harmless fun to keep myself amused instead of getting aggravated by these behaviors.

Female travellers are advised to dress conservatively when visiting Egypt, but it appears that some female travellers from the Western countries, especially those from Poland, did not get the dresscode memo. The way these Polish girls dressed would put Mariah Carey in her crazy days to shame. To prevent drawing any unnecessary attention, the four ladies in our group all dressed conservatively. However given Dede's darker skin, she would still get ogled everywhere she went. Apparently Latinas are very popular in this part of the world (which explains the fascination of Egyptian men with Shakira) and Dede looked like a Latina, even though she is Asian.

To be fair, all these nuisance aside, Egypt is still a country worth visiting at least once in your lifetime. After all, this is the country where you can see the last Seven Wonder of the World, The Pyramids, and ancient temples with carvings on the wall that explain in great detail the relationship between the Pharaohs and their Gods/Deities. All of us had a great time on this trip. We laughed a lot (most of the time it was on the expense of poor Ein). We also snacked a lot (to the point where Mahmoud said he had never guided a group that ate as much as us). Most importantly we saw the historic temples and pyramids that we would remember for life (but if our memory ever fails us we have the 1000+ pictures we took on the trip to jolt back our memories). We felt that the nine days we had spent in Egypt just flew by quickly, except for the three days that we had to spend on the cruise.

Trip Report: Believe It or Not, You Can Actually Relax in Cancun

Despite its well known reputation for being a party town, Cancun can actually be a place to relax and unwind over a long weekend. That is if you go during the off season when pesky college students are nowhere in sight. Of course there are the hurricanes and heat to worry about, but if you luck out and mother nature is on your side, you will actually find Cancun highly enjoyable.

Cancun is like an American outpost. Here you can see restaurants like Outback Steakhouse and Bubba Gump Shrimp. Dining is quite an expensive activity here. Restaurants in Cancun, especially those charge American prices and some seafood restaurants even charge prices that are similar to those at a 5-star restaurants in NY. Besides the familiar restaurant brands located on the hotel strip, you can find a long list of hotels that Americans are familiar with, such as the JW Marriott and the Omni Hotels. I highly recommend the Le Meridien Resort and Spa. It features three great pools overlooking the blue Caribbean Sea. The rooms are also quite sizable and the spa/gym facilities are top notch.

For sightseeing, I recommend visiting the ancient Mayan sites such as Tulum and Chichen Itza. An all inclusive day trip to these destinations will cost you about USD$60-$90. The tour to Chichen Itza actually includes a lunch buffet near the Mayan site. But the food is nothing to write home about, and the traditional Yutacan dance performed by the locals as your chow down your tortillas and refried beans is just an attempt to get more tips from the tourists.

In short, Thomas and I really had a relaxing time there. Aside from visiting the ancient Mayan sites, we spent most of our time at the gym/spa and in the pool. Choosing the right resort, and having some luck on your side (as far as weather is concerned) are key to enjoying your stay in Cancun.

Trip Report: A Long Weekend in Taipei

I had been to Taipei about 15 years ago. It was just for a one night stopover en route to the States so I could not remember a lot of things. All I could remember were the various dance clubs my cousin took me to and the chinese restaurant that served us mediocre tasting dim sum at 2 in the morning. Since I was in Malaysia visiting my folks last week, I decided to spend a long weekend in Taipei. My significant other was there visiting his family and offered to put me up at his parents' home and played tour guide to me.

To many who have not been to Taiwan, their first impression of Taiwan would be its ongoing fight to become independent from China. Some may also recall the scenes of Taiwan's political leaders fighting in parliament that they previously saw on TV. Oh believe me, the fights are vivid and entertaining. Women pulling each other's hair and clubbing each other with their high heel shoes while men strangling each other and kicking their opponent below the belt. It's better than the fights on WWF. The locals attribute these behaviors to the evolvement of a full democracy. I think it's sheer crassness.

Taipei is the capital of Taiwan and is home to approximately 6 million people. The city is known most recently for housing the tallest building in the world, Taipei 101. The claim remains valid until Shanghai finishes building another one (god when will this competition of constructing the tallest building ever end?). It is also known of its 24 hour bookstore (Eslite Bookstore), street food and natural hot springs. In terms of must-see tourist sights, there is the National Palace Museum that houses 650,000 Chinese artifacts and is undoubtedly one of the greatest museums in the world, and the Chung Cheng Memorial Hall that the Ministry of Education has recently petitioned to change its name (to Taiwan Democracy Memorial Hall) and remove the Chiang Chung Cheng statue. Way to alter history, buddy!

While the restaurant cuisines here in Taipei are mediocre at best, the street food is creative and scrumptious. Salt baked chicken, stinky tofu (not for the faintest of hearts), rice ball, silky soy milk and little tomatoes with prunes sandwiched in them. The best place to get these street foods is the night market. There are a few notable ones, such as the Shihlin Night Market and Huahsi Night Market. Just ask the local and they will direct you to the closest night market. I gained at least 5 pounds after downing a few rice balls and several bags of salt baked chicken. I have to say that the stinky tofu was really hard on my nose and had a gagging effect. Some restaurants even serve stinky tofu shabu shabu here. I cannot imagine sitting infront of the stinky tofu pot for a few hours. If you want to try traditional Taiwanese cuisine restaurant style, check out Shin Yeh restaurant. It has 5 locations in Taipei. Just go to www.shinyeh.com.tw for the address of the locations. Unfortunately the site is written in Mandarin.

A visit to Taipei would not be complete without a visit to its natural hot springs. Thomas and I went to an upscale one called Spring Park Urai Spa and Resort (www.springparkhotel.com.tw) which was located about an hour drive away from the city. The admission fee was TWD850 which was about USD26. They also offer massages at reasonable rates. It has separate men and women facility and has beautiful decors with several large indoor and outdoor pools. It's worth an afternoon visit.

All in all, Taipei was a good destination for a long weekend trip. My only regret was that I did not see the political leaders duking it out live. With the presidential election coming next year, I am sure there will be many more hair-pulling and fist-blowing moments to come in the parliament. Until then, I have this website to tie me over. (http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1500459/posts). So China, would you grant this little island her very own independence?

Trip Report: Looking For My Maddox in a City That Recently Discovered Tourism

I idolize Angelina Jolie. Ever since she got out of her crazy phase, Santa Angelina has been involved in many kids related charity projects. It all started after she adopted her son Maddox. A native from Cambodia , Maddox has brought out the full maternal instinct in Angelina. That little boy with a Mohawk hairdo inspired Angelina to ditch her erratic and weird behavior and do good things such as saving the unprivileged kids around the world. Angelina also scored a really hot husband along the way and recently had a baby with him (Buddhists call this good karma). Contrary to Santa Angelina, I am mean and have been repeatedly admonished by my friends that hell has a welcoming fanfare waiting for my arrival. Seeing how a Cambodian kid has transformed Angelina and what good karma she has inherited by doing good, I decided to pay this developing country a visit and get myself a Maddox. I chose Siem Reap, the small provincial capital that discovered tourism not too long ago.


Siem Reap houses the Angkor Archaeological Park that puts her on the world tourist map in recent years. Designated a World Heritage Site by UNESCO, Angkor Archaeological Park encompasses dozens of temple ruins, including the legendary Angkor Wat and The Bayon Temple. The discovery of tourism in Siem Reap has created a lot of job opportunities for the war-torn and impoverished country. Presently a lot of hotel conglomerates are constructing their hotels in this small capital and there is an increasing number of Cambodians moving south to seek employment. I applaud the government’s effort to grow the country’s tourism industry. Had it not been for the booming of this industry in Siem Reap, the unemployment rate in Cambodia would have been much higher than its current estimated 40% rate.



I arrived at The Siem Reap international airport. This airport reminds you of the one showcased in the old sitcom “Wings”. The airport had only four gates. There were no custom officers at the exit point to collect your custom declaration forms. This was clearly an airport that you can hop in and out off easily, without having to arrive two hours before the flight departs. Upon exit there was a representative from Le Meridien Angkor waiting for me. For those of you who seek a luxurious five star accommodation, I highly suggest the Le Meridien Angkor (www.starwood.com). At a peak season rate of only USD185 per day, it includes a night stay at the beautifully decorated and spacious Angkor style room, breakfast buffet, a daily fresh fruit plate, daily appetizer- teasers from the hotel’s world-class Indochine restaurant (delivered around dinner time to get your taste bud going) and service that would make you feel like a royalty. Nowadays, this rate can only get you a room at the Comfort Inn in Manhattan.



I hired a driver (for USD25 a day) and an English speaking tour guide (for USD20 a day) to take me to the temples. During the peak travel season in Siem Reap, it’s best to see the temples between 6am-9am and 3pm-6pm. There are fewer people and the temperature is very comfortable then. Also the best month, temperature wise, to visit Cambodia is from December to February. Avoid going during the rainy season of July and August unless you like to experience endless perspiration induced by the intense humidity and the scorching sun. Indrea (my tour guide) took me to many temples, including the famous Bayon Temple and Angkor Wat (sunrise view at Angkor Wat is a must see). He did a good job explaining the history of these Hindu and Buddhist temples that were erected in the 13th and 14th century. He also did a great job in taking my photographs. As a solo traveler, it is always handy to have a tour guide to take your photographs. No more of those self taken pictures with the face making up at least half of the photograph (in my case it would be almost all since I have a pretty big head). We visited a great variety of temples. I was elated when we visited the Ta Phrom temple since this was where Angelina shot her “Tomb Raider” movie. I thought by following her footsteps I actually could end up leading the life that she currently leads. I would have to shed at least 80 pounds first. Upon arrival at every temple sight rest assured you will be greeted by a bunch of persistent kids selling you postcards, bracelet and other souvenirs. No more than 6 years old, these adorable kids are multi-lingual when it comes to phrases like “do you want to buy?”, “very cheap” and “where are you from?” They are quite the future entrepreneurs I may say. If Angelina had not picked Maddox for the adoption, he would be one of these kids running around selling you picture books of Angkor Wat.

After getting a tad templed out, I opted to take a boat trip to see the floating villages in Tonle Sap Lake . Located just 30 minutes south of Siem Reap, the Tonle Sap Lake is one of the largest fresh water lakes in the world. It swells anywhere from 2500km to 12000 km in the wet season. Floating villages are located along the side of the lake and the community in general is very poor. I had not seen so many kids running around naked before, since their parents could not afford clothes for them to wear. I intended to kidnap one back as my Maddox, but that notion was quickly dismissed by my tour guide, citing imprisonment and death sentence as the possible consequences to my action. The water in this lake is very important to the villages, as they use it to do their businesses as well as… ahem… bathe in it. During the boat ride, I passed by a house where the mother was dipping the bottom half of her baby into the water for a bathroom break, and two houses west of that house, a sarong clad woman was bathing herself with the river water that flowed westward.

The cost of travel is generally very inexpensive in Cambodia . A meal at a nice restaurant in the tourist trap area, Pub Street, would set you back by USD5-10 (three courses with beer). A tuk-tuk ride (there are no cabs here) would set you back by USD2. Clean and small hotels run at USD20-25 per night. Cambodian food (the locals call it ‘Khmer Food’) is very similar to Thai food. But it has a blander taste than the latter. One of the famous traditional Khmer dishes is known as ‘Armok fish’. It looks like the Thai green curry dish minus the spiciness of the famous Thai dish. One restaurant I highly recommend for good ‘Armok Fish’ is ‘Khmer Kitchen’ located on Pub Street. They also serve other scrumptious dishes such as the stir fried morning glory with chili paste which is a popular Southeast Asian dish. For handicrafts and jewellery shopping, head out to the old market. Remember to always bargain and offer 30% of the quoted price (settling for no more than 50% of the price). While it is generally safe to travel in this country now, not all landmines have been completely removed so travelers should not veer off to any forest or deserted lands when they are biking to the temples. Travelers should also be savvy. Like anywhere else, there is a fair amount of pick pockets in the city that target especially the tourists. Nevertheless I felt completely safe when I was here.

Good news avid massage fans! The quality of the massages here are on par with those offered in Thailand and the prices are much cheaper than those offered in Thailand . A 60 minute massage at a shop (clean and legit one that is) costs only USD18-20. The same massage offered at a five star hotel spa, such as the one at Le Meridien, would cost you double – about USD 38-40. In New York City I can’t even get that rate at the massage parlors in Chinatown . I highly recommend a place called “Body Tune” if you want a good massage in the old market area. Originating from Thailand , this massage and spa chain opens daily from 10am to 10pm and offers a variety of massages. A one hour massage costs USD18-20. Tel: 063-764141. Website: www.bodytune.co.th

Like Thailand and Vietnam, Cambodia has recently become the playground for male pedophiles who traveled from western countries in search of some easy and repercussion-less fun. Fortunately, the Cambodian government has taken actions against this sickening activity. They have imprisoned over 1000 foreigners for a jail term up to 20 years. In fact, the back page of Siem Reap’s official travel guide is a full page warning reminding travelers that engaging in sexual activities with children is a crime. Good for them! I am enraged at these perverts who think they can get away with their sickly behaviors just because they are in some impoverished developing countries! Send them to jail. Better yet castrate them and make them into eunuchs.

Three days are a good enough time to spend in Siem Reap. Frankly there is not much to do after three days. For me I had seen all the temples, visited all the important sights, ate all the food I needed to try and even had a relaxing spa treatment. But I had not found myself a Cambodian kid. Oh well, doing good, as well as marrying Brad Pitt, are both quite overrated. I am perfectly content with the infernal welcoming fanfare that is awaiting my arrival. At least it will be a hot party.