Angkor Wat: Welcome To The World’s First Super City…

by Brett Atkinson on

If you’ve ever been to the Khmer architectural wonders at Angkor Wat in Cambodia, you’ll know that you need to be super-organised to see the different sites arrayed near the Tonle Sap lake.

You’ll be up early for sunrise at Angkor Wat, and after the journey to the Bayon at Angkor Thom, it’s onto temples further afield by bicycle or tuk tuk. New research by the Greater Angkor Project at the University of Sydney in Australia has now revealed that the size of the urban sprawl surrounding the temple at Angkor Wat is actually ten times larger than previously thought. The combination of aerial photography, on the ground research, and radar has revealed that the ancient conurbation covered nearly 3000 sq km. Almost 100 new temple sites have been discovered, and it’s now estimated the overall population of the area may have topped one million between the 9th and 16th centuries.

Mind you, if you’ve visited the rapidly expanding town of Siem Reap recently, you may think that a similar number is sometimes approached during the tourist season.

Thanks to dragon caiman on Flickr for the great shot of monks at Angkor Wat.

Traffic Accidents #1 Cause of Death for U.S. Citizens Abroad

by Catherine Bodry on

The first time I tried to ride a motorbike “sidesaddle,” I almost fell off. Two months later, and I was whizzing around S.E. Asia on the back of motorbikes, legs to one side, like I’d been doing it my whole life. No helmet. Random driver. I loved the surprise expressed by locals when they saw me in my skirt, riding along sideways like it was nothing. I knew it was dumb, but everyone else was doing it so I figured it was okay. But my instinct influenced me just enough to keep me from bragging to my mother, who would not have been impressed.

Travelers tend to feel invincible when abroad. I know I performed stunts I would never do back home, like riding on the edge of an open truck bed for four hours on a dirt road in Cambodia. When I tried to pull the same trick in Seattle (across a parking lot, mind you) my parents refused to drive one more foot until I was back in the cab.

In retrospect, maybe I was lucky I was never in an accident. I certainly witnessed a few. A friend in the Peace Corps was not allowed to ride motorbikes because, he said, motorbike accidents are the largest cause of Peace Corps deaths. USA today reports that motor vehicle crashes are the leading cause of death for traveling Americans. The article cites many reasons, including substandard roads, poor or nonexistent signs, and lax law enforcement. And accidents are not isolated to developing countries, either. About 15% of traveler fatalities occur in high-income countries.

Personally, I found riding sidesaddle on the back of a motorbike much easier than trying to drive on the left side of the road in Ireland. But maybe next time I’m in Asia I’ll forgo the motorbike in favor of a taxicab — and a seatbelt.

Alcohol Shortage on Bali May Impact Tourism

by Catherine Bodry on

Beautiful landscape? Check. Stunning beaches? Check. Amazing culture? Check. Booze? Nope, sorry. Wait, no booze? Forget it. I’ll just go to Thailand.

This checklist is what Indonesian trade ministry officials are worried is going through your mind as you consider a trip to the tropical island of Bali. Due to an “import problem” (read: discovery of an alcohol-smuggling ring and a subsequent customs “reorganization”) there’s been a major shortage of wine and spirits on the island. All-inclusive resorts are suffering the most, since their selling point tends to be, naturally, all-inclusive bars.

Despite the lack of ambiance-enhancing drinks, however (and really, does Bali need any artificial ambiance?), the numbers are up. Tourist arrivals rose a whopping 34% in the first half of 2007 from a year ago.

One for the Road – China: Balzac and the Little Chinese Seamstress

by Kelly Amabile on

As a sidebar to this month’s Chinese Buffet series, throughout August, One for the Road will highlight travel guides, reference books and other recommended reads related to life or travel in China.

Did I mention that I read an entire book while on the train from Beijing to Shanghai? While browsing at the Foreign Language Bookstore on Wangfujing Dajie in Beijing, I came across a copy of Balzac and the Little Chinese Seamstress. Since my backpack was already overloaded with guidebooks, I really had no business buying another book, but this tiny paperback was whispering to me. After I learned that the plot revolved around a secret trunk of forbidden books, I knew I had to have it.

The tale begins in the summer of 1968, when two boys, both sons of doctors, are sent to a “re-education camp” during the height of Mao’s Cultural Revolution. The story revolves around their friendship, the beautiful little seamstress and a mysterious collection of Western classics, hidden in a suitcase in the home of their friend “Four Eyes”. Anyone with a passion for literature will probably find this historical novel to be a quick and enjoyable read. (It’s perfect reading material for an all day train trip through China too!) Written by Dai Sijie, a Chinese filmmaker who has lived in France since 1984, a movie version of the book opened the Cannes Film Festival in 2002.

Chinese Buffet – Part 10: Day Train to Shanghai

by Kelly Amabile on
Chinese Buffet is a month-long series that chronicles the travels of an American woman who visited China for the first time in July 2007.


When I originally decided that I was going to take a train from Beijing to Shanghai, I figured I’d take the night train, since it’s inexpensive and saves time by transporting you while you sleep. I’d done this to save time and money on several European overnight journeys in the past. But I realized that on this China trip, I wasn’t really in a rush. And I’m a big fan of train travel — I enjoy the experience of staring aimlessly out the window for hours, reading a book or catching up on journal writing.

Since this was my very first train trip in China, and I had the time to spare, I decided to investigate day train options. Seat 61 alerted me to news of the brand new express electric train that began daily runs between the two cities in April 2007. I decided that the D31 bullet train would be the way I’d go.

Budget backpackers on a tight schedule and no extra RMB might skip this pricier option, but since I’d only spent $30 on my four nights in the hutong hostel, I decided that the “splurge” for this train ride was worth it. At 327 RMB for a second class ticket, the D31 ten-hour trip would set me back a whopping $43 bucks. I pay more than twice that for a lousy 4-hour Amtrak from NYC to DC!

But before I get too excited, let me rewind to the ticket purchase process:

Although I didn’t have to persevere as long as Ember and her pals did when purchasing the ticket, it was a confusing process that could potentially cause major headaches, especially if you’re planning to buy on your own. I had heard about rules regarding when you can buy (usually only five days in advance if not purchasing through a travel agency) and so I waited till mid-week, and then feared I had let too much time pass. Thank goodness for my wonderful Mandarin-fluent Couchsurfing host, who sent me off to the main train station with my ticket purchase request written out in Chinese characters.

(Model of Beijing Zhan from the Urban Planning Exhibition – just imagine loads of folks queued up out front!)

It was early morning and the station was swarming with people. I didn’t know about the English language lines, so I just picked one queue from among the millions and waited my turn as best I could. A few folks cut ahead of me, and others just stared. I asked a few young Chinese students if I was on the right line and they said it didn’t matter, I would be fine on any line. And I was — but I think it was just good luck! Eventually I got to the window clerk, showed my precious piece of paper, received a nod, paid up and was given a small orange ticket that said D31 and showed the proper departure date. Relief! If only I had remembered to ask for a window seat!!!

A few days later I made my way back to the station. I was pleasantly surprised to find this comfy setup when I arrived ridiculously early for my 10:50 departure:

I verified with the cafe manager that I was in the right place and then settled down with a cold latte, amusing myself with the English translations of other items offered on the menu: Home gruel, Mexico popcorn, Turkey West disabilities, Toronto allocated winter hamburger fries. I munched on some of my own homemade trail mix instead.

By about 10 am the waiting room was packed and I soon befriended Bobby, a 12-year-old from Beijing who spoke excellent English. He was traveling with his cousin and grandparents, and it was cute how his grandfather motioned for Bobby to come sit next to me, and then began video-recording us as we chatted.

Bobby took me under his wing, asking me all sorts of questions about where I was from and where I was going. We talked a lot about American movies, as he had just seen the new Transformers film. He asked to see my train ticket:

“The train to Shanghai takes eight minutes,” Bobby explained.

“Wow! That is really fast!” I smiled at him, hinting with a wink, so that he would realize his mistake.

He giggled. “Oh!! I mean eight hours! But it used to take 15. Now they have faster trains.”

Bobby and his grandfather escorted me to the next room when it was time to board. I had my own bodyguard buddies! They were waiting for a different train that would take them to the coast. We said our goodbyes and Bobby waved behind me for awhile, as if old pals were parting ways. The last remaining nerves I had about the train trip were gone. I boarded and made myself as comfortable as I could in my middle seat:

The whole point of taking the day train was so that I could SEE things, but that proved to be quite challenging from where my seat was located. I made the best of it and was rewarded about an hour later, when the gentleman on the aisle of our row disembarked at the first stop. (The D31 only stopped two or three times the entire day — I can’t recall what the first stop was, but it did stop in Xuzhou later in the day.)

I still didn’t have a window seat, but I was happy with an “upgrade” to the now vacant aisle seat. I got up every hour or so and would walk to the end of the car, where I could stretch my legs and do my window staring. The landscape consisted mostly of cornfields and construction:

The train itself was very clean and comfortable. But as the day progressed, so did the smells. A woman across the aisle from me pulled a whole cooked chicken out of her purse at one point and just started chowing down on it. I’m sure it was quite yummy, but after awhile all the food smells started to linger. The train staff would move through the cars every hour or so, collecting new trash. I noticed these bags after awhile, piled up where I had been standing to look out the window:

No more landscape gazing for me. I snoozed for a bit, read a great short novel, and then pulled out my collection of compact Shanghai guidebooks. In only a few more hours I’d arrive at my next destination: