Home sweet home...almost

So here we are in Cambodia - specifically Phomn Penh.

It started with a very early morning flight - 7 am - which required getting up at 4am, not one of ms. cook's strong points. But after only just a little grumbling and whining about the fact that it was still dark out, we were on our way. We met up briefly with Jed at the airport, although he couldn't be on our plane due to some visa difficulties for Theary. (A quick note for those of you who don't know... Jed is the owner of The Warehouse and Theary is his wife.) But he told us to rest assured, since Theary's mother would be waiting at the arrivals gate with a sign and they would only be an hour behind us. So after a quick flight, we arrived in Phomn Penh. Arrivals is interesting - on the spot visa applications of the quasi official sort. After securing our business visas (a $5 difference from the tourist variety) in a sort of cattle call situation, we collected our luggage and headed out the door. And there indeed was Theary's mother...and her father...and a few siblings...and friends....and grandparents....all in all I would say we were descended upon by about 20 or so thrilled Cambodians. Which is not to say they were all there to see us, although I think many of the Westerners on our flight were a bit confused and maybe even jealous at the welcoming party. Theary has actually been in America with Jed for about 6 months, so with eager anticipation we spent another hour waiting for their plane to arrive, which was followed by many tears and hugs...

We were all quickly whisked off in a caravan of cars to the city and spent the next few hours exploring this new country we'll be calling home. Dinner was a magnificent adventure in which we were joined by the airport welcoming committee as well as another 20 or so neighbors for dinner at Theary's parent's house. A lovely treat to get a taste of the local food and life.

This morning we spent some time following Jed, Theary, her mother, her sister, and her father to the local market to begin outfitting Jed for the upcoming wedding. (Jed and Theary were married this summer in Vermont and our now repeating the ceremony here in Cambodia.) But even as I write this, repeating seems like a poor choice of words. Cambodian weddings are a different story all together from their American counterparts. Theary will wear up to 15 dresses, Jed will wear around 7 suits, and the whole event will be over the course of several days. Puts some of the extravagant events I've seen in the states to shame. However, I am happy to report that I witnessed some universal truths surrounding wedding planning. 1 - The bride and her mother will disagree and bicker at some point. 2 - Even though the groom is told he has some choice and can voice opinion, he can and will be overruled if its not what the bride wants. This second truth is the reason it looks like one of Jed's suits will be a fabulous sherbet orange...

Tomorrow we leave for Siem Reap, so our next posts really will be from home sweet home. And I promise the pictures will appear in the next few days!

The truth about spiders...

For those of you who know Mr. Cook, you know what really happened when we encountered the "giant spiders". For those of you who don't know him as well, I will simply clarify the picture he has painted a little. I was the one with the broom in my hand, while he was the one outside the rafthouse dancing around saying "kill it, kill it" in a slightly higher octave than usual...

three more days in Bangkok

We feel, or at least I(Mr. Cook), a little more settled and actually managed to not get ripped off in a taxi to our new hotel. The Majestic Grande. Swank diddly dank. After a week of little and sometimes no electricity, tricky toilets, and jungle it felt good to treat ourselves to some luxury.
We relaxed, swam in the gorgeous pool, and took it easy. Rode the skytrain to the aquarium, went shopping and got ready for Cambodia, finally. We are ready to be there and call it home.

Actually pronounced Poo ket

After a much needed shower and some restorative rest without imminent arachnid threats we boarded a very posh van with Tu and some of her friends bound for the beaches and resort mecca that is Phuket Island. The van was equipped with A/C, thank god, and a DVD system where we watched Rambo first blood. We arrived in Phuket and met up with another of Tu's friends at the mall and hung out for a while then the eight of us jumbed in her truck with al our luggage and went to the hotel. I gallantly volunteered for the back as I have ridden in the back of pickups my whole life and could feel nostalgic for a youth of unsafe travel options. It rained.

It was time for the Vegetarian Festival in southern Thailand where people get so consumed and meditative over there love of vegetables that they can pierce their faces with a variety of things like spikes and daggers and tree branches. Huh thats interesting.

We traveled around the island and I thought of the many interesting limericks that Phuket lends itself to.
I met a young lass from Phuket
She said back to my place, "you bet"
I'll let the readers finish. We saw Patong beach and had Starbuck's, Karon beach where surfing is sometimes possible and Kata beach where they have minigolf. Our party was now ten people strong and I stayed true to my roots and stayed in the truck bed and proceed to get a little too much sun. Very beautiful beaches lots of resorts all in all a vacationer's paradise. I'll take golden Buddha any day of the week.

uhm Tu, Where are you taking us?

Sorry for the delay readers but it has been a busy week. When last we met your intrepid epicurians had been languishing on the idyllic Andaman coast at GBB. After a pleasant boat ride we found ourselves once again in Kura Buri and ready to take on the world. Provided of course that it took it easy on us. We had a nice dinner propared for us by our summer camp kitchen mate Tu and her boyf Beaudy and were told to pack lightly for an overnight trip to a lake in the Khao Sak National Park. So off we went early the next morning and over the next couple of hours were treated to the very picturesque southern Thai countryside. When we arrived we were treated to a reservoir that is enormous surrounded by towering cliffs and dense jungle filled with lord knows what wildlife; tigers, elephants, sun bears, and primates o' plenty. Tu kept smiling reassuringly and Beaudy had told us this was one of his favorite places on earth. We boarded another longboat and set sail for the far side of the lake. Winding through narrow passages and across great expanses of lake at times I felt like we were in the Fjords of Thailand. After an hour or so we reached the opposite shore and then proceded to hike over a hill for 45 minutes until we reached another secret hidden lake. Now your authors can be as adventurous as the next guy, but I was getting a little concerned that we were getting as far from civilization as we knew it as we had ever been. Then we got on another boat, a bamboo pole boat, and fifteen minutes later arrived at the rafthouses. Yes, rafthouses. Ten by ten floating bamboo cabins tethered together and to a central communal galley and dining area. No electricity, no plumbing, and certainly aging American yoga hippies. Oh wait there was one of those, a man named Dickey who has lived in Thailand for the last 25 years after striking it rich on a treasure boat in Florida. I am not making this up. He was a very nice guy and obviously extremely interesting to talk to. He was up there recording jungle noises and preparing for some yoga retreats that he was planning and leading at the rafthouses over the next couple of months. There were also a couple of Frenchmen there just relaxing and fishing. WE spent the first afternoon swimming in the lake and plaing cards with Tu by latern light, very cool. Then Ms. Cook and I were besieged by Giant Spiders. GIANT SPIDERS. Luckily my cool head and quick reflexes saved us from almost certain death. Thank god I am not afraid of spiders and could handle this situation.

After a night of wary alertness, incase of further attack, we woke up to a beautiful jungle morning. Then we went kayaking for an hour and saw and heard monkeys and hornbills and lots of unidentified creatures. And all before breakfast. Then we went spelunking. Still not making this up. After that we napped and then trekked back and boated back and carred back to Kura Buri and slept wondering what Tu had in store for the next couple of days.