Bayon, Angor Thom, Cambodia

Posted on February 17, 2015 by jaynezak

“Bayon can be said to be the most imaginative and singular in the world, because more unearthly in its conception, a temple from a city in some distant planet…imbued with the same elusive beauty that often lives between the lines of a great poem.” Bruno Dagens

Bayon and Angkor Wat evoke similar aesthetic responses yet are different in purpose, design, architecture and decoration. Bayon was built in late 12th century to early 13th century, by King Jayavarman VII. The dense jungle surrounding the temple camouflaged its place in relation to other structures at Angkor so it was not known for some time that the Bayon stands in the exact centre of the city of Angkor Thom.

To get to the temple you cross a bridge lined with amazing statues.

You continue on to my favorite place – the terrace of the elephants.

On approaching from a distance, it resembles a rather formless initially disappointing jumble of stone.

Inside you discover a maze of galleries, towers and passageways on three different levels.

The structure is rich in decoration, detailing scenes from battles, religious rituals, and everyday life.

The most famous thing about the Bayon Temple are the over 200 faces carved into the stone temple towers – some indistinct and crumbling and others perfectly preserved.

It is generally accepted that four faces on the towers are images of the bodhisattva (fully enlightened beings) who delays entry into Nirvana to aid the spiritual development of others.

The characteristics of the faces – a broad forehead, downcast eyes, wild nostrils, thick lips that curl upwards slightly at the ends-combine to reflect the famous ‘Smile of Angkor’.

The feeling at Bayon Temple for me was very different from Angor Wat. It is smaller, greyer and in the jungle.

There are slabs of stone and crumbling ruins all around.

You can see how they brought the stone from quarries thirty miles away and lifted it up.

My guide in Cambodia was Mr. Wong Kimsien. Kim was very knowledgeable and fun. He had a good sense of humor and was able to go with the flow and switched gears whenever necessary. He also took most of these photos and the ones at Ta Prohm as well. He is a very good photographer. Thank you Kim for being such a good tour guide and all your kindness.

Bayon is less crowded than Angor Wat so you can even find a quiet space for a blessing under the sightless gaze of the ever-present faces.

Fly safe,

JAZ

Why Don’t We Eat More Cambodian Food?

Posted on February 8, 2015 by jaynezak

Why Don’t We Eat More Cambodian Food?

“Now that you are eating the rice, you can enjoy the taste of the food.” Cambodian waiter in Siem Reap to me.

I don’t like rice but I am grateful to rice for keeping people from starving. It is the most widely consumed food in the world especially in Asia. In Asian countries it is weird if you don’t eat rice. So this trip I managed to not eat rice in Japan, Thailand, Hong Kong and Viet Nam but in Cambodia everyone eats rice. If they see that your plate has no rice, they put rice on it. In many restaurants, rice is free or included. They did not understand the no rice thing. Having had so much starvation for so many years, it is odd for them to see people jogging to lose weight or not eat rice. I needed to eat some rice in Cambodia to understand the food. I felt a little of that first world privilege that I had a choice not to eat it.

Khmer food takes influences from a variety of countries. Cambodia was a French colony for many years and also has many Chinese immigrants, so both French and Chinese foods are widely found. Thailand is nearby and influences the flavors as well. as well. Common ingredients are rice and sticky rice, fish sauce, palm sugar, lime, garlic, chilies, coconut milk, lemon grass,, kaffir lime and shallots.

I have never eaten Cambodian food before so I can’t judge anything other than that I thought it was fresh and delicious. The flavors are strong, clean and not too spicy for me. (Cambodian curry)

Hunger is a legacy that lives on in Cambodian food and everything is edible. This is not my first fried bug country but there are a lot of them here. Platters of fried tarantulas and spiders are common in the market.

They told me the red ants that were biting my leg on the hammock were delicious when cooked with beef and they were right.

My new favorite Cambodian dish is Amok, a popular Khmer dish. Amok is a national dish, made from fish, coconut milk and curry paste and cooked in banana leaves. I had it with fish and chicken.(fish amok and morning glory)

I love trying new restaurants and my new favorite restaurant is in Siem Reap Cambodia. It is Batchum Khmer Kitchen restaurant (http://batchumkhmerkitchen.com) I ate there twice. The food is fresh and organic (as most food is in agricultural communities).

It is located in a quiet part of the Angor Archaological Park overlooking tropical gardens and rice paddies. (watching the quick tropical rainstorm while eating)

The second day I went for a coffee and did not plan on staying for lunch but it is so beautiful and relaxing there and the food is so delicious and the staff is so friendly that we ended up staying.

In the Khmer language the word for rice and food are the same. In Cambodia, they go together.

Fly safe,

JAZ

Angor Wat, Cambodia

Posted on January 29, 2015 by jaynezak

Angor Wat, Cambodia

“One of these temples – a rival to that of Solomon, and erected by some ancient Michelangelo – might take its place besides our most beautiful buildings – Grander than anything left to us by Greece or Rome …it makes the traveler forget all the fatigues of the journey, filling him with admiration and delight, such as should be experienced on finding a verdant oasis in the sandy desert” Henry Mouhot (the French explorer who publicized Angor Wat by writing about his findings)

There’s a moment just before you do what it is you have anticipated doing for your whole life, that is better than actually doing it. That is how it felt as the plane landed in Siem Reap. Everyone was a tourist. Everyone had their Iphones out and were snapping photos out the window and of the Cambodian Airlines plane that we were on.

Collective excitement is definitely more exciting – especially in many different languages. We were here. The place that we had watched on the Discovery Channel specials, or documentaries and/or had seen photos of, was just a few miles from the airport. The next day, everyone on that plane was about to see one of the most impressive sights in the world.

Angor Wat is the largest temple in the world and the world’s largest religious building constructed of stone.

It is often described as one of the most extraordinary architectural creations ever built, with its intricate bas-reliefs, strange acoustics and magnificent soaring towers. It was built by King Suryavarman II in the 12th century. The Cambodian word Angkor is derived from the Sanskrit word ‘Nagara’ meaning ‘holy city’. It was originally built as a Hindu temple.

Angkor Wat is unusually oriented to the west, a direction typically associated with death in Hindu culture. Archaeologists and scholars disagree about why the ancient builders chose to deviate from the ‘norm’ at the time. Bas-reliefs at Angkor Wat read counterclockwise, another sign that the temple is associated with funeral rituals.

Also unusual for the time of construction, Angkor Wat was dedicated to Vishnu a Hindu deity, rather than the current king.

Angkor Wat was shifted from Hindu to Buddhist use sometime around the late 13th century. The temple is still used by Buddhists today.

The temples greatest sculptural treasure is its 2 meter high bas reliefs, around the walls of the outer gallery.

It is the longest continuous bas reliefs in the world. In some areas, traces of paint and gilt that once covered the carvings can still be seen.

There are scenes of legends, wars and everyday life, enhanced by carvings of nearly 2,000 apsaras, or celestial dancers.

Angor Wat was made a Unesco World Heritage Site in 1992.The site suffered from decades of unregulated tourism and looting; many ancient statues have been decapitated and their heads sold to private collectors.

An international collaborative effort has helped to slowly restore sites and prevent further collapse of unstable structures.

Sokimex, a private company founded by an ethnic Vietnamese-Cambodian businessman, has rented Angkor Wat from Cambodia since 1990 and manages tourism there – for profit.

Most of the money to restore Angkor Wat comes from foreign aid.

Only an estimated 28% of ticket sales goes back into the temples,

It is architecturally and artistically breathtaking. No photograph can capture the immensity of this monument.

I expected to have some deep spiritual connection with Angor Wat but I did not. Instead I felt the imprints of history and stood in awe of the skill and artistry that covers ever inch of the buildings from an ancient Khmer universe that surpasses the imagination.

Fly safe,

JAZ

Land Mines In Cambodia

Posted on January 20, 2015 by jaynezak

Land Mines In Cambodia

“When elephants fight, ants get killed.” Cambodian Proverb

Everywhere you go in Siem Reap you will see disabled beggars. They are victims of war – victims of landmines.

The landmines in Cambodia were placed by different fighting groups (the Khmer Rouge, the Heng Samrin and Hun Sen regimes) during the Civil War in Cambodia in the 1970s. They were put in the whole territory of the country. One of the problems that Cambodia faces is that the people who placed the mines do not remember where they put them.

Cambodia is still a very poor traumatized country from the cruel years of the Khmer Rouge. Almost every family has lost at least one family member and faced unbearable situations during that time. Most of the adults remember starvation. There are many terrible stories.

The Cambodian Mine Action Centre (CMAC) estimates that there may still be as many as four to six million mines. It will take at least ten more years to clear most of them out. They have 40,000 amputees. It is the largest number in the world which makes it the most disabled country.

Even now about 250 people a year still step on land mines – most of them children. The hospitals are too far away and many of them die. The ones that don’t usually lose a limb.

Traditionally in Khmer society the person who stepped on a mine was viewed as unlucky, their own bad karma having sentenced them to a life of misery. It was assumed, furthermore, that those with only one leg or one arm could not be productive members of society. This attitude of discrimination is changing and there are now some organizations to help the disabled.

Some of the organizations have music groups that you will see around Cambodia especially in Angor Wat and the other temples. They sell their CDs and play traditional Khmer music.

There are many organizations you can give to in Cambodia and in the US to help as well. Unicef, Cambodian Children’s Charity and Land Mine Survivors Cambodia are a few in the US. The American dollar goes a much longer way in Cambodia and even a small amount will help.

The country is recovering slowly. They are determined to build and succeed, heal the wounded, forgive the unforgivable and have better lives.

Fly safe,

JAZ

Agent Orange – The Legacy Of War In Viet Nam

Posted on December 10, 2014 by jaynezak

Agent Orange – The Legacy Of War In Viet Nam

“Vietnam was a country where America was trying to make people stop being communists by dropping things on them from airplanes.” Kurt Vonnegut

Agent Orange was one of the herbicides used against the Viet Cong by the Americans in 1961-1971. It was given its name from the color of the orange-striped barrels in which it was shipped. Agent Orange contains a very toxic dioxin compound. At the time there was an absence of any humanitarian laws about herbicides. The UN adopted a law in 1978 that prevents the use of herbicides that have long-lasting toxic effects on a case by case basis.

The goal was to destroy rural forested land and nearby crops depriving guerrillas of food and cover and clearing sensitive military areas. ^,The program was also a part of a general policy which aimed to destroy the ability of peasants to support themselves in the countryside, forcing them to flee to the U.S. dominated cities, depriving the guerrillas of their rural support base.

The campaign destroyed 5 million acres of land and mangrove forests and millions of acres of crops. It was later discovered nearly all the food they had destroyed was not being produced for guerrillas; it was only being grown to support the local civilian population. This contributed to widespread famine, leaving hundreds of thousands of people malnourished or starving.

Three million Vietnamese including their children have suffered illnesses as a result of being exposed to Agent Orange. Multiple health problems include, cleft palate, mental disabilities, hernias, extra fingers and toes, cancer, diabetes, birth defects, and genetic diseases. High levels of the toxic dioxin compound are found in the soil around the American military bases where they were stored and will continue to cause illness for the Vietnamese people.

Screen Shot 2014-11-26 at 12.16.28 AM For the past 52 years, the Vietnamese people have attempted to discuss this legacy of war by trying to get the United States and the chemical companies to accept responsibility for using such dangerous chemicals on civilian populations. The United States says the figures and testing are unreliable and have yet to accept any financial responsibility for the victims.

DSCF4747

The Vietnamese have established “peace villages”, which each host between 50 and 100 victims, giving them medical and psychological help. U.S. veterans of the war and sympathetic people have supported these programs in Vietnam. An international group of veterans from the U.S. and its allies during the Vietnam War working with their former enemy — veterans from the Viet Nam Veterans Association — established the Viet Nam Friendship Village^[1 outside of Hanoi.

We stopped in a place outside Hanoi where victims of Agent Orange wove artwork. As Americans and human beings, we need to support these places when we travel.

Though my family was always against the Viet Nam War, I feel the guilt of an American. I came from a country who fought for many years in Viet Nam. I guess they thought they were doing something good, but they weren’t fighting for their country and trying to protect their villages and children so after a while they left. I don’t really understand anymore why we had been there at all.

Di du lịch một cách an toàn,

JAZ

Wet Towels In Asia

Posted on December 6, 2014 by jaynezak

Wet Towels In Asia

“I am not the same having seen the moon shine on the other side of the world.” Mary Anne Radmache

Japan is a country of specific etiquette. Correct manners are very important to the Japanese. It’s very easy to embarrass yourself in Japan as an American. I started my Asia trip in Japan and as is their custom I began each meal with the wet towel. Japan is a society of cleanliness. It is a culture of bath houses and onsens. You have never seen so many people brushing their teeth and gargling (Japanese are obsessed with gargling as a cure for everything) in public restrooms. They carry handkerchiefs in case there is nothing to dry their hands with in a public restroom.

The towel is called an o-shibori. A typical o-shibori, made of cloth, is dampened with water and wrung. It is then placed on the dining table for customers to wipe their hands before or during the meal. The o-shibori is often rolled or folded and given to the customer on a tray. Even if a tray is not used, it is usually rolled up into a long, thin shape. Cold ones are used in summer and hot ones are used in winter.

Airlines, also give out disposable towels containing a sterilizing agent such as alcohol or chlorine dioxide. Traveling on different Asian Airlines, the smell wafts through the plane as everyone rips open their towels as soon as they are given them.

The custom continued in restaurants and airlines in Thailand, Viet Nam and Cambodia. It is interesting because these are countries with unclean water and questionable sanitation. There is something civilized about the understanding between the patron and the restaurant that your hands must be clean before you eat.

I wondered why we did not have that concept in America. Do they just assume our hands are clean? Do they not care?

I like the towel. For me it means to stop and focus on what we are doing now. We are about to do something important. We are about to have a meal.

Fly safe,

JAZ

How to Make A Pearl In Viet Nam

Posted on December 2, 2014 by jaynezak

How To Make A Pearl In Viet Nam

“Quotations are sometimes valuable pearls but original thoughts can be priceless treasures” unknown

Ancient Chinese literature refer to pearls as originating in the brain of a dragon and being so lustrous as to be visible from a thousand yards. In Ha Long Bay, the Bay Of Descending Dragons is The Ha Long Bay Pearl Farm.

Until the early 1900’s, natural pearls were accessible to only the rich and famous. It was during this time that Japanese researchers discovered the techniques that could be used to cause oysters to create pearls “on demand.” Oysters create pearls as a defense mechanism. If an irritant, such as sand get inside the oyster shell, they secrete a substance around it which forms a pearl. The Japanese discovered that if you surgically insert an irritant directly into the body of the oyster this will produce a perfect pearl.

The man who finally joined the various technical processes with smart business sense and worldwide marketing, was Kokichi Mikimoto. He is credited with almost single-handedly having created the cultured pearl industry.

Today pearls are affordable and available to all. Cultured pearls share the same properties as natural pearls. The only difference is a little bit of encouragement by man. (Shopping – Halongpearl.com.vn)

Di du lịch một cách an toàn,

JAZ

Folded Money In Unstable Countries

Posted on November 28, 2014 by jaynezak

Folded Money In Unstable Countries

“No, not rich. I am a poor man with money, which is not the same thing.” Gabriel Garcia Marquez

I knew that when I went to Myanmar a few years ago that their bank only accepts foreign currency that is new, crisp, not torn and not folded and preferably in hundred-dollar bill denominations. I knew it and I forgot it. I went to the bank and got the sparkling new hundred-dollar bills. When I was packing, I promptly folded my crisp new hundred-dollar bills in half and put them in my passport case. This resulted in a black market money exchange, up a four flight betel nut stained stairway (which looks like dried blood), to an apartment of someone who my non-English speaking driver knew.

I was not prepared in that way for Cambodia or new military controlled Thailand.

You can pay everything in dollars in Cambodia. But not if they are a bit torn or folded. Everyone examines your money the way an art dealer looks for a forgery. A barely visible ink dot, a half-millimeter tear, even a crease that has weakened the fibers, is enough to get your bill rejected. Many are rejected. Smaller bills like ones and fives could not be marked but did not have to be wrinkle free. Euros don’t seem to show the wear and tear that dollars do so you might consider using them.

In Thailand, they turned down a one dollar bill that I had just gotten as change in Cambodia. “It is too old, “ they said. Some countries wont accept any money minted before 2006.

The best thing when traveling to third world countries with unstable governments is to go to the bank and get crisp new bills before you go and don’t fold them.

Apparently, the more unstable and corrupt the government, the newer and cleaner, your dollars need to be. You wont have any problem with changing your rumpled money in Europe.

Fly safe,

JAZ

Ha Long Bay, The Bay Of Descending Dragons, Viet Nam

Posted on November 23, 2014 by jaynezak

Ha Long Bay, The Bay Of Descending Dragons, Viet Nam

“Heroes take journeys, confront dragons, and discover the treasure of their true selves.” Carol Pearson

Ha Long Bay is considered to be the most beautiful vista in Vietnam. It consists of 1,969 islands and islets situated in the Gulf of Tonkin.

This area is known for its spectacular seascape of limestone pillars. Ha Long Bay has been recognized as a World Natural Heritage Site by UNESCO.

The literal meaning of “Ha Long” is “Bay of Descending Dragons”. A local legend says that a family of dragons was sent to defend the land long ago when the Vietnamese were fighting the Chinese invaders. The dragons thought it was so beautiful that they decided to stay upon what is now Ha Long Bay.

It houses a great diversity of ecosystems including coral reefs, freshwater swamp forests, mangrove forest, small freshwater lakes, and sandy beaches.

The islands feature beautiful grottos and caves with interesting stone formations and hidden ponds.

The way to see Ha Long Bay is on a Vietnamese boat or junk. There are many options to choose from in all price ranges. I think one night is good but you can do more as well and explore many caves and beaches.

I was on the Paradise boat. ( http://www.paradisevietnam.com). It had good food, a relaxed atmosphere, a helpful friendly staff, tai chi, cooking lesson and luckily good weather for the boat to go out. ( captain, manager – very helpful)

Our first stop was exploring Amazing or Surprising Cave. I can’t remember the name. It was amazingly surprising.

The next day we took small boats or kayaks to explore some of the smaller areas.

There were monkeys.

I was the only American on the boat and I got to experience this amazing place with people from Taiwan, England, Korea, Brazil and Australia. Not everyone spoke English but we were all having the same connected interaction at the same time in this beautiful place. Travel, experiences, education and knowledge always make the world seem smaller.

Di du lịch một cách an toàn

JAZ

Things I’ve Learned In Viet Nam

Posted on November 16, 2014 by jaynezak

Things I’ve Learned In Viet Nam

“If in our daily life we can smile, if we can be peaceful and happy, not only we, but everyone will profit from it. This is the most basic kind of peace work.”

Thích Nhất Hạhn

It is spelled Viet Nam in Viet Nam in English and it seems to be spelled Vietnam in the US.

Vietnamese New Year is everybody’s birthday. Vietnamese measure age by the number of lunar years you have lived.

Vietnamese weddings have seven to eight hundred guests. The groom’s family pays for the wedding. (The men like our tradition better) It can be as cheap as ten dollars a head. The custom is to do the wedding above their social standing. (that sounds familiar)

Instead of bells, traditional gongs are used to call the Vietnamese children to school.

Although Vietnam is a developing country, it has a literacy rate of 94%.

Viets make up the largest ethnic group. Nam means south country. Vietnam means country of southern Viets.

Fifteen per cent of Vietnamese language is French ,fifteen per cent is minority groups and seventy per cent is Chinese.

They get along well with the other ethnic groups because Vietnamese believe that they are all people who” came from the same box”.

Among all developing countries, Vietnam has one of the lowest unemployment rates.

Korea is the biggest foreign investor in Viet Nam followed by Singapore, Hong Kong and Japan.

They are the number one exporter for black pepper and number two exporter for cashews, coffee and rice.

Three big things in a Vietnamese life is getting a wife, building a house and buying a buffalo. ( I guess for non villagers that means a job now)

Vietnam is crawling with Australians. it is a four-hour flight. They know everything – who the best tailors are, where to get glasses made, good guest houses. Even if it is their first time, they have that information from their friends.

Beauty Treatments are everywhere.

No you have not had the best Banh Mi sandwich of your life unless it is on the side of the road in Saigon or Hanoi.

Same goes for Vietnamese coffee.

Ruou ran (snake wine), a Vietnamese specialty of rice wine with a pickled snake inside, allegedly can cure any sickness.

If an older person wants you to drink with them, you have to show respect and obedience and comply. Older people appreciate respect and obedience much more than ability and success.

Gambling in casinos in Vietnam is illegal for local people but legal for tourists and expats.

One million Vietnamese dong is close to about fifty dollars. You feel rich all the time in Vietnam because all your bills are in denominations of several thousands.

When a guest comes to your house, the more meat you prepare, the more important the guest.

Buddhism here involves a communal house to worship the ancestors They practice a Theravedic Buddhism which includes Taoist and Confucian teachings. (altar a house in the Mekong Delta)

Vietnamese believe in the Lady Buddha.

The communist attitude toward Buddhism and all religions greatly influenced the less strict practice of any religion in the country.

Vietnamese believe that Happy Buddha is a sign of good luck and good deeds. Starving is not the only way to become Buddha.

They believe in burial. When they are able to, they bury near their houses so they can watch the house.

The Vietnamese language has six different tones. A change in tone changes the meaning of the word. This makes their language somewhat difficult to learn.

Dog meat is relatively popular in Vietnam Probably not where you are eating.

Vietnamese don’t take a shower in the morning. They prefer to take a shower in the evening.

Teenagers in Vietnam love anything Korean – food, music, hairstyle, clothes, etc. Yes, K-POP is a big thing here.

So is karaoke.

When Vietnamese drink tea or water (or anything), they always leave 5 to 10% in the cup after drinking. They don’t empty their cups. There are many lovely teas – jasmine,ginger, peppermint, licorice and Palm leaf to name a few.

According to the Vietnamese News, taxis are a stain on Vietnamese hospitality. Ho Chi Minh City distributed leaflets warning tourists and are wondering if that would help. Mai Linh and Vinasun are the most reliable taxis.

An estimated ten million motor bikes travel on the roads of Vietnam every day. You will be painfully aware of the mass use of motorbikes here. They crowd every alley, curb, and sometimes sidewalk. This is because in Vietnam, not only are bikes relatively cheap, but they’re easy to fix, and they run for many hours on just a few litres of gas,

Vietnamese take a nap after lunch. This means driving from twelve to one pm is really quiet and smooth. Yes, no traffic jam!

They wear helmets not to be safe on the roads but in order not to be fined by the police/traffic officers.

Nobody respects pedestrian lanes crossing here. The trick is be assertive and don’t stop crossing no matter how scary and also pray.

Every family has 2 or more motorbikes and they are parked on the ground floor. Sometimes the living room is a garage at the same time.

The Vietnamese peasant cared nothing for politics in war-time. They leaned toward those who harassed them the least. (American bunker near Danang)

The truth about this very special country is that you can’t really understand it without visiting it. Seeing the different Vietnam landscapes at sunset, sailing down Halong Bay and the Mekong River, watching the fishermen throw their nets in Hoi An, seeing the families on motorcycles after school, the water buffaloes in the rice paddies and the women in the triangle hats , drinking Vietnamese coffee, tasting the food and feeling the resilience, sense of humor and heart of the people are all things I will remember. It’s a mixture of images, sounds, and even smells and textures that can’t be compared to anything else in the world. (Phu Quoc sunset)

Di du lịch một cách an toàn

JAZ

Travel Well, Fly Safe

Travel

Category Archives: Southeast Asia

Bayon, Angor Thom, Cambodia

Why Don’t We Eat More Cambodian Food?

Angor Wat, Cambodia

Land Mines In Cambodia

Agent Orange – The Legacy Of War In Viet Nam

Wet Towels In Asia

How to Make A Pearl In Viet Nam

Folded Money In Unstable Countries

Ha Long Bay, The Bay Of Descending Dragons, Viet Nam

Things I’ve Learned In Viet Nam