Manishma!

I made a few references in my penultimate post to the many Israelis on this island, promising more on the subject. For those of you unaware of this bizarre phenomenon, there are so many Israelis who vacation in Thailand, that there are actually signs here in the islands in Thai, Hebrew, and English. Koh Phangan reins as the #1 destination for Israeli kids when they finish their army duty, and as a result, much Hebrew is heard on the beaches and in the falafel shops.

These kids are not to be messed with. They drink more than you can, they party harder than you do, and they just finished the army, so they could definitely kick your ass. A typical conversation with one of the many Israelis we have met goes something like this:

Me: Where are you from?
Random Israeli: Israel
Me: Yes, obviously. Where?
Random Israeli: Tel Aviv
Me: Oh, cool. I have family there.
Random Israeli: You are Jewish?!
Me: Yes.
Random Israeli: [incredulously] Both your parents?
Me: Uh, yeah.
Random Israeli: So, why are you not in Israel?
Me: Well, right now because I am in Thailand, and typically because I am American. I live in New York.
Random Israeli: Ahhh, New York!

My favorite is when they try to recruit you to join their army. “You know, you could volunteer!” Then I have to break it to them that I’m actually 26, and then I feel old, because divulging this information causes them to look at me like I’m really old. They follow up their recruitment schtick with, “But it’s fun!” to which I reply something really sardonic like, “Yeah, it’s all fun and games until somebody invades Lebanon,” and then they usually walk away looking mildly offended and mostly confused.

Angkor Ruins, Day #2

We woke up at 4:30 yesterday morning to catch the sun rise over Angkor Wat and I am so glad that we did! When I was here last year, we didn't get much of a sunrise at all; It was too muggy and overcast. As you can see from the photo above, this was not at all the case this time around. In fact, it was probably the most beautiful thing I have ever seen.

We hired a fantastic tour guide to take us around for the day. After hitting up Angkor Wat, we saw Ta Prohm, which is especially spectacular in the early morning light. Also referred to as "Tombraider Temple," this is partially where the film was shot. The trees were left to give a feel for what the entire temple complex looked like when it was rediscovered in the mid-19th Century, but also because the structural integrity has become so dependent on the trees, that most of the temple would collapse were they to be removed. This temple is probably my favorite. In the morning mist, it looks eerily beautiful; Unlike anything else I've ever seen.

From there, we made our way to Bantay Srei, another favorite. Bantey Srei means Citadel of the Woman, and was built as a shrine to the Hindu goddess, Lakshmi. It features the most intricate

carvings of any temple in the complex, and the use of different layers of sandstone gives it natural yellow, pink, brown and red shades. The spectacular blue sky yesterday and the vividly green grass (the rainy season is just beginning here) made it absolutely perfect.

Of course, with the three of us, there is constant comedy along the way. Fritz decided to try to teach our Khmer guide some key Yiddish words. For example, to shvitz, because we were certainly doing a lot of that.


Climbing to the top of some very tall temples via extremely steep, narrow, and uneven steps was fun on the way up, but terrifying on the way down, especially for Sneaky who is afraid of heights. We had to coax him down with the promise of cold beverage.


We returned to our room at 1:00 in the afternoon, feeling like it was 5:00 p.m. It was in all likelihood one of the most productive Satudays any of us have had in a long time!