A combination of escaping Perth’s winter gloom, the necessity of a western detox, some fantastic food and a couple of dirt cheap flights to Bangkok and we’re off to Cambodia via BKK.
Have you had one of those moments where you think to yourself “Yeah, I was in Vietnam the year before last, no wait, was it the year before the year before last?” Time has flown by since I was last in South East Asia proper. Way back when, tertiary study and study breaks resulted in a routine of months spent in Thailand, Vietnam & Laos. Somehow the Cambodian visa stamp has managed to elude the passport.
This post is a short journal of my pre-trip planning (or lack thereof) and the long lost excitement that comes with dusting off the ol’ travel backpack. This will be the first trip that will coincide with me writing and living a simpler life, so I’ve also included my take on packing light.
The partner-in-crime will be accompanying me on this trip. A love of Thai & Vietnamese cooking and a current disdain for most of the goings on of the Western World means we’re both quite excited about a small dose of escapism. The sidekick has never visited SEA before, so I’m nervous for her but would give anything to be in her shoes and have the sensory overload that accompanies exiting the arrivals gate at Suvarnabhumi Airport and inhaling your first whiff of what at first would seem to be an off kebab that’s been left under a car seat, but no, that is the charming aroma of Bangkok my friends.
A bare minimum amount of planning has gone into this trip, although it would be foolish to not have any sort of plan. A short train ride across Thailand, arrival at the Thai/Cambodian border, the ensuing scams of visas, bus rides and extortionate currency exchange and then we’re on to Siem Reap.
Cambodia in Brief
I like to know what makes a country and it’s people tick, so I’ve read a lot of history books on Cambodia, Kampuchea, Cambodge (depending on which century of rule). The atrocities of the Khmer Rouge and the history of the country have been fascinating, gruesome and unbelievable, but I’m looking forward to learning about it first hand.
At a glance Cambodia offers the third world equivalents of ‘Western Europe’ travel and the ‘Eastern Europe’ travel; the popular Angkor Wat & Phnom Penh which you could liken to an Eiffel Tower style operation, ie; if you’re visiting Paris, you wouldn’t skip out on the Eiffel Tower regardless of the tourist factor. The East of Cambodia that shares a border with Vietnam could draw a far away comparison with Eastern Europe, less developed and rural, some would argue more authentic. As this is the sidekick’s first visit to SEA and it’s not my intention to suggest we sleep in thatch huts for two weeks, we’ll be opting for the relative luxury of the west this time around.
On Packing Light
One quick read through Rolf Pott’s Vagabonding or Thoreau’s Walden Pond and it’s evident that one small backpack for a few weeks away should be enough. The challenge we’ve set for ourselves is to only take one small carry on piece of luggage each. I think every minimalist is keen to write their ‘the 43 things I own’ post, so here’s my small ode to them.
Electronic Gadgets
I’d like do somewhere like Angkor Wat or Ta Prohm justice by taking some nice sunrise or sunset photos. So the SLR camera, an 18-270mm lens, a water proof point & shoot and all the chargers and bits that go with it are making the journey. The super minimalist traveller would/could do away with all of that. (This would result in being able to take a much smaller daypack sized bag)
Toiletries & Bits
Hopefully there’ll be the odd boat ride, floating village home-stay or swim so a compact towel gets the nod. Only taking carry-on luggage on the flight restricts packing aerosols or too many liquids. The pinnacle of mankind’s development was discovered yesterday, the small yellow package next to the Lonely Planet contains 50 ‘leaves’ of dissolvable compact laundry soap to do your own washing with, brilliant. The orange thing isn’t an emergency distress beacon, but I found roll-on deodorant in the shops today that had ‘adventure’ written on it, most suitable. The trusty travel wallet is home to the printed evisa, passport, notes and some US dollars, of which I received $500 for $470 Australian, take that Federal Reserve Bank!
Clothes
Our plan is to travel light and do laundry often, but for the sake of a few hundred extra grams in a backpack I’m happy to take an extra shirt or two; 3 t-shirts, 1 shirt, 1 shorts, 1 cargo pants for temples (cover the knees), a few pairs of Reg Grundies and one pair of PJ bottoms. An alternative to packing multiple sets of clothes is the classic ‘shower in your clothes’ technique, only to be used by the advanced traveller.
Other Stuff
Minimal travel packing is all good in theory, but I’m puzzled as to what to do when you’re leaving from your home country’s winter at 9pm at night, but won’t have any need for jeans or a big jumper/jacket while you’re away? On person will be jeans, a shirt (possibly a thermo top, cold = wimp) and shoes. Also not shown are my flip-flops, thongs, pluggers or jandals (depending on where you’re from).
Not long now.
I’m looking forward to my first authentic red curry in a while, the odd jewellery store scam, the invitation (but not attendance!) to taboo entertainment (in BKK around 4pm the tuk-tuk drivers harassment changes from “you want to see Buddha?” to “you want sex show?”)
Have I missed anything off the packing list? Have you been through Cambodia before and can recommend any great experiences? Or if you had a few weeks on the road, what one book would you take to devour?
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