Christmas in Cambodia and Laos

Magical is the best way I can describe how we felt about Christmas in Cambodia and Laos this year.

For starters, Lola and Tito Ryan were able to join us for most of our two and a half week trip. For middles, this was our first trip as a family to a new country and a chance for us to be outside in nature every single day. And for enders, the memories made on this trip will last for always.

In Cambodia, we stayed at Hanumanalaya, off the main road in Siem Reap. It was charming and relatively quiet, decorated in Khmer style. We had spent hours researching places to stay and a requirement was a nice pool for Ace to enjoy in the afternoons after temple-seeing each morning. Well, the chilly weather turned out to be our first surprise and we only took a dip once. That didn't stop Ace from running around like he owned the place - the staff loved him and (annoyingly to his parents) would cater to his every whim.

Siem Reap seems to have tourism down. You hire a driver, who takes you to the ticket booth where you pay for a 1, 2, 3 or 7-day pass. On the way, your laminated photo pass is hole-punched and you are free to enter any of the temples on the circuit. 

Our regular tuk tuk driver, Mr. Let, shuttled us down the flat roads to hidden temples like Angkor Thom (faces); the famous Angkor Wat; Ta Prohm (think Tomb Raider and temples taken over by nature); and Bakong and Preah Ko Temples. Each spot was unique in construction, style and level of preservation and we did not get templed-out like so many friends before us. Having six days there was the wisest decision we could have made, as it allowed us to explore every site we wanted to, and then revisit the most captivating ones for a sunrise here or a sunset there. As we admired the intricate structures, it was hard not to imagine mirroring civilizations who were building equally amazing structures in other parts of the world, at exactly the same time, unbeknownst to them.

-----Angkor Thom-----

 -----Angkor Wat-----

 -----Ta Prohm-----

 -----Bakong and Preah Ko-----

 -----Angkor Wat at Sunrise----- 

 -----Angkor Wat at Sunset-----

 -----Ta Prohm (again)-----

We also took a drive out to Tonle Sap Lake, the largest freshwater lake in southeast Asia, and then a boat trip to a floating village (which was really more like a stilted village) called Kampong Phluk. While there, we were paddled around the mangroves.

Stops at the National Museum; the Old Market for ornaments, palm juice and recycled beer koozies and bags; Wat Thmei (a very disappointing Khmer Rouge memorial site); the Night Market for shenanigans; and a few local handicraft markets were on the itinerary, as well.

Our busiest day included hiring a car (and driver affectionately called Mr. T!) to visit the less-frequented Banteay Srey and Kbai Spean, where signs warned of landmines if you strayed too far off the path. On the way back from these peaceful sites, we visited the Landmine Museum, which was opened and operated by a former child soldier. It is estimated that up to 10 million landmines were buried by Khmer Rouge, Vietnamese and Cambodian opposition fighters during the span of a decade, along with half a million tons of unexploded bombs dropped by US forces. Cambodia has the highest amputee ratio per capita in the world. The museum is informative and heart-wrenching, but also hopeful. It provides homes and education services to at-risk youth and landmine-affected children, raises awareness about landmines in rural communities and helps in the demining of the country. After the heaviness of this stop, we went to a butterfly garden where we spotted gorgeous varieties and colors of lots of gentle butterflies. Lastly, we enjoyed sunset at Pre Rup (with local beers in hand, of course), but an inopportune pootastrophe with Ace put a bit of a damper on it.

-----Banteay Srey-----

Listening to music being played by landmine survivors

 -----Kbai Spean-----

 -----Landmine Museum-----

-----Butterfly Garden-----

 -----Pre Rup at Sunset-----

Favorite, hilarious, disturbing and otherwise ridiculous memories include singing Christmas carols in the tuk tuk on the way back from a temple, smuggling beer cans in to Angkor Wat for sundowners at "closing time," eating delectable fair-trade vegetarian food at Peace Cafe Community Center, sunrise on top of Phnom Bakheng and the subsequent rays poking through on Angkor Wat as we stopped abruptly for some gorgeous photos, and a rat on Christmas Eve night. That last one requires explanation, though we are not proud of our parenting skills on this one.   

-----Phnom Bakheng at Sunrise-----

-----Angkor Wat at Sunrise (again)-----

For our special dinner (which was an absurd $60 per person for a set menu in a developing country!), we started to indulge in appetizers and drinks when a traditional dance began known as the Apsara. All was going well and Ace was super intrigued for a time, until it was noted that Ace was getting super tired. Cory and I decided to bring him up to the room for bed, while Mom and Ry continued on. When we entered our hotel room, we saw the beads from Aiston's beloved stuffed friend, Trumpet the elephant, scattered all over the floor. It hit me like a ton of bricks. Suddenly, the blood-soaked sheets from two nights before, the small slashes on Aiston's pinky finger and the rustling of plastic in the middle of the night from the previous evening all made sense. A rat. The dinner that was meant to be amazing turned into a frenzy of internet research on Rat Bite Fever, supreme parent guilt and a worried uncle and grandma, not to mention a TOTAL breakdown from the Aceman when he saw what became of his best bedtime friend - a torn-off face. Ace bawled his eyes out and had the most frenzied face of worry I have seen in my life. He kept asking if Trumpet was going to be okay and when he would get better and where he was going. We rubber-banded what remained of his neck so no more beads would fall out, sealed him a plastic bag and told our son that Trumpet had to be air-lifted to Manila for surgery and that it would take a long time to heal. We thought this would be the end of our happy trip, but it turned out that Aiston was quite the understanding little guy. He asked about Trumpet's whereabouts several times and we reassured him that he was being taken very good care of by the doctors. Even when we returned home to Manila, he would continue to ask, but he is not the upset, completely attached toddler that we thought he would be. Overall, the whole ordeal couldn't have been too bad, or I guess it's that we can thank our lucky stars, because Ace didn't exhibit any of the symptoms of the illness and was a trooper besides. It grosses me out to think that a rat was in my son's bed in the night and chomping on his finger right by his face. ICK.

Christmas Day involved enjoying one more delicious breakfast with local coffee at Hanuman, relaxing by the pool or temple-trekking at Angkor Thom, then traveling to Luang Prabang. 

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In Laos, we froze our buns off at Laos Spirit Resort, a gorgeous spread of bungalows overlooking a muddy river and set in lush tropical gardens. While there, we spent an entire day walking with Mr. Lui to Tad Sae Waterfall, boating on the river, hiking up past Tad Sae Waterfall (which was gorgeously serene) and heading back to the resort by elephant. This was Aiston's first opportunity to see an animal of this size in a natural setting. All of the elephants at the Elephant Village have been rescued from incredibly demanding logging work or mistreatment from owners. These elephants are now given homes, regular food and medical treatment, love and care and a chance to provide tourists with personal encounters, without taxing their bodies. The alternative is misery. Laos used to be called The Land of a Million Elephants. Estimates of wild elephants remaining in Laos number around 500. Watching Aiston's face light up as he met the elephant we would ride face-to-face were truly heart-flutteringly beautiful. Of course, as it was naptime, as soon as we started the rhythmic rocking on the gigantic mammal, Ace promptly fell asleep.

Nong Khiaw was our next stop for three nights. There, we hiked every day through mountainous terrain. Cory got in a quick rock-climbing adventure, the siblings snuck in a crappy massage, and we all loved dining out on scrumptiously filling and wholesome Laotian meals, which catered to our vegetarian ways, much to our pleasure. Our favorite hike included a scenic boat ride down the Mekong River to 100 Waterfalls, called such because there are literally 100 falls to climb up. Yes, UP. We think Ace may just have been the first "baby" to do the trek with our guide Hong, and it was well worth the hardship. It will easily go down as one of our best hikes ever, mostly due to its pristine isolation. We walked through tiny farming villages, thick jungle, dried up rice paddies and cascading falls. The boat ride back to Nam Ou River Lodge was equally beautiful and to top off the night, we luxuriated in a Seahawk victory over the Rams on Ry's tiny iPad screen in an Indian restaurant called Chennai. It didn't get much better than that. 

The final leg of our journey was spent in Luang Prabang town proper. We had a hell of a time finding our first hotel, Mekong Estate, as it was tucked away down a village road outside of town. Once we found it, we thought it strange that such an exquisite place had to compete with karoake so loud the speakers blew, just across the street. Thankfully, it was New Year's Eve by this point and we were out late enough at the Night Market to come back to a relatively peaceful celebration in our tundra-cold room. It might have been our best New Year's ever as we shopped for trinkets at the Night Market, drank some Beer Laos and wrote messages on a paper lantern to send into the sky. Cory, Mom and Ace watched the Laotian version of Dick Clark live as they televised it on TV. A game of Quiddler bundled up in all the blankets we could find, plenty more Beer Laos and lots of laughs rounded out the evening's festivities. 

The next day saw us on bicycles - attempting to visit all the wats, shops, beer houses and massage parlors that were possibly open on New Year's Day. Biking was wildly fun, if only because it is a novelty for us. It was also funny singing the song reserved for the Wicked Witch of the West from the Wizard of Oz as we drove down the cobbled streets and tucked into jewels like Joma Bakery and Cafe and Phu Si Hill. Ry left us to our own devices and traveled back to Singapore while the rest of us spent our last two nights in Luang Prabang at Le Bel Air Boutique Hotel, where we basically did a whole lot more of what we do best - appreciate the outdoors and each other; eat (and drink and toast to friends and family not with us but who would appreciate the experience just the same) heartily (and responsibly, of course); talk, giggle and tease; and be grateful for these fleeting moments of bliss and beauty.