HO CHI MINH CITY TO PHNOM PENH
We were leaving Vietnam today by our least favourite form of long distance travel, the bus. However, once we arrived at the bus station we were pleased to see that it was a large air conditioned coach that would be carrying us over the border into Cambodia. It was pretty quiet going until we reached the border at which point we all had to get out and hand our passports to the bus driver before entering a large wooden building. We waited on either side of a barrier as slowly but surely they read out the names of everyone who had provided their passports and you were allowed to make your way through to the other side. Cambodia was one of the places we had been unable to get a visa for in the UK so that was what they were doing with our passports. We piled back on to the bus again and traveled along the noticeably bumpier road towards Phnom Penh, the capital of Cambodia. The driver decided it was time to put on a Bollywood movie now so we watched a confusing story about a bad boy motorcycle driver and the girl who he couldn't get. It was confusing but colourful.
We arrived in a hot and sticky Phnom Penh late in the morning. We all piled out of the bus and were immediately surrounded by tuk tuk drivers keen to take us wherever we wanted to go. We picked/were picked by a nice young looking guy with a spacious looking tuk tuk. He drove us through town so that we could drop our bags off at the hostel. We were pretty hungry so asked the driver to find us somewhere to get some good Cambodian cuisine. The tuk tuk driver took us along the river in the centre of town and stopped in front of a Khmer restaurant. We encouraged him to join us for lunch so that we could get what he recommended and learn a bit more about Cambodia. There were lots of other tuk tuk drivers waiting outside, and along the streets, so ours was pretty lucky to have someone to drive around for the day. Our driver encouraged us to try the fish amok. It was spicy and creamy and very delicious. Turns out our driver was studying English and had gotten a scholarship to study at an Australian school. If he did well he would get to study in Australia. The tuk tuk driving was to pay the bills for his family.
After lunch our driver took us around the city showing us the sights before dropping us at the Royal Palace, which is a series of ornate structures which has served as the home of the King of Cambodia, although he doesn't actually live there now, because he has a big house in town. As you would expect the buildings are ornate with lots of statues, high gold pointed roofs and surrounded by beautiful gardens. You can't actually go in to most of the buildings so just need to enjoy them from the outside. One exception is the Silver Pagoda, which houses the Emerald Buddha, a small green Buddha situated high on on a ledge. There were a lot of people worshiping when we came to visit so we paid our respects for a while before continuing to walk around the complex, past ornate painted friezes and a miniature model of Ankhor Wat. We were perhaps a bit hasty in leaving the Silver Pagoda. All of a sudden the clouds rolled in and it started to pour. The rain was bucketing down. We fortunately found some shelter pretty quick but we saw plenty of other people drenched to the bone. The only ones who seemed to be enjoying themselves were the big toads who were coming out for a swim. The tiled squares had turned into swimming pools.
We finished up at the palace and went out looking for a driver. We couldn't find him but as we hadn't yet paid him anything so didn't want to just go with one of the many other drivers who we were waiting for business. Eventually our driver turned up again and we got him to take us to the Central Market, an art deco French dome with four arms that stretch out and lots of tarpaulins keeping the stall holders somewhat dry from the rain, which had now dropped to a drizzle. Lucky it was hot so the drizzle was a welcome relief. The market sold pretty much everything you could imagine, fruit and veges, fish, clothes, jewellery, cleaning products. It was clear that although there was some touristy stuff this one was for the locals to get their day to day needs. We didn't find anything that we were particularly interested in so got the driver to take us to the oldest building in Phnom Penh, Wat Phnom, a Buddhist temple on the top of a hill with a park surrounding it. It was a bit of a climb to get to the top but luckily there were plenty of stairs with Buddhist lions and Naga, seven headed serpents, escorting you up. As expected there are a series of Buddha inside but unlike the Silver Pagoda this one was relatively empty. We journeyed down past a huge Naga weaved from Bamboo and met our driver. He was keen to continue driving us around but we were pretty tired so got him to drop us back at the hostel.
After a bit of a rest we needed to get some dinner. It was still raining pretty heavy, but we decided to go and check out some market food at the night market. The rain meant the place looked like a giant tarpaulin house and had seemed to keep people away because it wasn't too busy. We found a place to order some food and sat down at the little tables to eat our dinner. It was a all a bit grim to be honest. The food wasn't great, being just greasy and relatively tasteless. There were also a lot of children begging which made us sad. After a quick look around the market we decided to carry on, stopping for a drink at a local bar, where there were too many old white men with young Cambodian women, before heading back to the hostel to hit the hay.
PHNOM PENH - DAY 2
Unfortunately Cambodia is probably most famous for the oppressive regime of Pol Pot and the Khmer Rouge who oppressed and murdered their people like no other regime in recent history in an experiment in instantly transforming the country into an agrarian community with no major cities and no intellectual elite. Today we decided we would visit some of the sites that still remembered those dark times. Our driver from yesterday picked us up and took us to S21, the Tuol Sleng Genocide Museum, a former school which became a prison for political prisoners during Pol Pot's rule. It has been left more or less intact as to how it was discovered when the Khmer Rouge were overthrown. There are empty rooms containing bed frames, leg irons and pictures of the many victims who had lived and died in the prison. It was all pretty basic which just added to the sense that not even a coat of paint had gone on this place for the tourists. They also showed a documentary all about the prisoners who had been there, with a special focus on one woman and her life and the fact that the leaders of the Khmer Rouge regime are still on trial nearly 35 years after their regime was overthrown and many of them still deny any wrongdoing.
After that grim experience we returned to our driver only to find that there were other people in the Tuk
Tuk. It turns out that while we had been visiting the Palace yesterday, our driver had gone off and gotten another fare. Fortunately there were four seats in the Tuk Tuk so there was enough room for anyone. We weren't in any great hurry so were happy to share. Maria and Louis were a couple who lived in Switzerland. She was Swiss and he was Mexican, but they both spoke English in their day to day work so could easily converse with us. Our next stop was in infamous Choeung Ek, better known is the Killing Field. Another horrific site of oppression from the Khmer Rouge regime. Over one million people were executed here with bodies being tipped into mass graves. It was brutal with guns rarely being used, instead rocks and branches were smashed into people's heads and babies were even thrown against trees. Truly sickening stuff. Now it is a peaceful field which you walk around, listening to an audio guide which tells you about all the horrors which had occurred where you were standing. A sad and surreal experience. The tour finishes with a large tower which houses many of the bones and scraps of clothing which rise out of the ground every time it rains.
After a grim day we got our driver to take us somewhere where we could unwind a bit and have a bite to eat. We seemed to have timed things well because before long the torrential monsoon came in again so we spent the next little while eating some more Khmer food and having a couple of drinks. It had been an emotionally draining day so after chilling out at the hostel we stepped out again, grabbed a small bite for dinner and went to bed. It was an early start tomorrow.
PHNOM PENH TO SIEM REAP
We checked out of our hostel early and after getting a present of a piece of money wrapped up to look like a suit and tie our driver took us to the bus to Siem Reap. We had hoped to travel by ferry on the Tonle Sap lake through the middle of the country but eventually we had given up on that idea as everyone told us that at this time of year the water wasn't high enough and the ferry's often ended up stranded on sand bars. That didn't sound to appealing so eventually common sense prevailed and we decided to book the bus. We met our friends from yesterday and piled on to the bus. This wasn't one of the fancy coaches we had had to date. It was a reasonably basic but we had a seat each and there was room for our bags so no complaints. The journey itself was relatively uneventful. The consistent theme from the city to the country where we were now traveling was still the poverty. Life in the country was pretty basic. Shacks on sticks to keep things dry and pest free. Existence for these people must be pretty tough. We stopped along the way for a toilet and snack break. We decided to play it safe and bought some chippies rather than a bowl of fried bugs, which seemed to be the other main option.
It was mid-afternoon when the bus pulled in to a dusty lot in Siem Reap. Our driver from Phnom Penh had arranged for his brother to meet us and be our driver in Siem Reap, so before long we were on our way to our hostel. After arriving at the wrong place (who knew there would be two hostels with banana in the title?) we eventually got ourselves sorted and checked in. It was pretty fancy, with buddhist and hindu statues throughout the garden at the front and lots of dark wood paneling inside. It was hot, so the complimentary drink was very welcome. After dropping our bags upstairs and freshening up we met out driver again to go check out the famous sunrise over the temple of Angkor Wat. It was a fair drive out of town and the clouds seemed to be rolling in pretty quickly. Our driver assured us we had nothing to worry about so we continued on. We stopped at the edge of the
Angkor Region to buy our passes to visit over the next few days. By this stage the clouds were thick and before long at started to torrentially pour down. However, as we were almost there we decided to carry on and check out Angkor Wat. After taking advantage of the person selling rain ponchos we made our way into the temple. We seemed to be going in the wrong direction, with people flooding out and us being the only ones to be going in. Despite the downpour it was still very impressive, with its huge stone walls, long causeways and giant towers. The rain meant we didn't get to see any of the famous sunset but we did make it to the temple. After a bit of poking around we were advised by a monk that it was time to go so we made our way back out to where our driver was waiting. The rain was still pretty heavy. We happened to see our friends from Phnom Penh so got our drivers to drop us in Siem Reap for a beer. After a drink we were pretty hungry so went looking for something to eat. We found a restaurant in Pub Street that served Cambodian BBQ, so decided to check it out. You get a charcoal brazier with a metal cone on top and sliced meat all around it. As is often the way with these sorts of things you get your meat, dip it in some sauce and then fry it on the cone. We had the usual chicken and beef, but we also had more unusual meats like ostrich, crocodile and snake. This was the first time we had eaten snake. Although perfectly edible it all ends up tasting much the same. It was enjoyable social dining but after a few hours we were knackered, so we bid farewell to our new friends and took a short walk back to our hostel.
SIEM REAP - DAY 2
After last night's sunset debacle we decided we would give the sunrise a miss too. However, by the time we got going it was a pretty clear morning so we were happy with our choice. After breakfast we met our driver who took us out to Angkor Wat again. This time we had all day but we also had a lot to see. We made our way back into Angkor Wat and along the causeway to the main temple. There were still plenty of puddles around from last night's downpour. A close look in some of the puddles revealed that we didn't want to step in them, not because we were worried about the water but more because they seemed to be a favourite place for scorpions to have a swim...The temple itself is a huge square and along each of the walls are intricate carved friezes depicting various events from Khmer history. Keeping watch on the temple were many monkeys, mothers and babies watching you hoping you would give them some food. They were pretty cute but we didn't get too close. In the middle of the temple you climb up to a plateau where there are three towers that you can climb. It was pretty hot already and there were people sitting in the shade wherever it could be found. After a bit of water we climbed up the towers to get an amazing view of the surrounding jungle. Scattered around the temple were a number of Buddha statues, each of them draped with an orange robe and incense surrounding them. Even the damaged and broken Buddha statues were revered.
Many people end their tour at Angkor Wat but we decided to get our driver to take us around some other temples too. Next stop was Prasat Kravan. This was a much smaller temple of one big central red brick tower and several smaller towers all in a line. After that we visited Banteay Kdei. This was a bigger temple complex, although not nearly as tall as Angkor Wat. You entered through cool gates topped with Buddha heads. We felt a bit more like explorers in this temple. Much of the complex had not been restored and many roofs and walls were collapsed. Across the road is a man made lake Srah Srang. We had a look out over it and stopped at some of the stalls nearby to pick up souvenirs. It is a hard life for the people who live in the region, because they aren't really allowed to use any of the land to make a living so a lot of them have to resort to selling souvenirs around the place. We then carried on our way to visit Ta Prohm which made us feel even more like Indiana Jones and Lara Croft. Again it was full of collapsed walls and roofs. The jungle was also present throughout with trees having grown in and
around the walls giving a cool contrast against the stone walls and
carvings. We spent quite a bit of time here peeking in and out of the
nooks and crannies. Next up was the temple of Ta Keo. This one was like a pyramid with a flat top that had three towers on top. It was pretty hot now and with no shelter around it was hot going climbing up all the stairs to get to the top. As usual there were Buddha to be found in the towers.
We stopped at a place across the road for lunch which the driver recommended. The food was pretty basic but it was tasty and kept us going. A lady and her children were doing the cooking. At one point chaos erupted and the children started running everywhere. The lady had a bag full of frogs and it had split with frogs going everywhere. The children were trying to catch them, our driver joined in and we even had a go although we aren't sure we were much help. One thing that was also prevalent, and sad, throughout the temple complex were little children, some of them maybe only 3 or 4, who had baskets full of souvenirs and had been taught a few English phrases to try and sell them. Some of these children were around where we were having lunch. We couldn't buy souvenirs from everyone but a few plastic tikis seemed to put some smiles on the kids faces. We carried on around the Grand Tour (that is the name of the route we were taking) and stopped at Chau Say Tevoda, a small complex of interconnected buildings across the road from Thommanon, a single tower temple with a couple of little buildings off to the side. It was also the site where we saw a big green snake. Fortunately it was dead and the ants were working at removing any evidence of its existence. Got to watch where you stand around these parts though.
We were leaving Vietnam today by our least favourite form of long distance travel, the bus. However, once we arrived at the bus station we were pleased to see that it was a large air conditioned coach that would be carrying us over the border into Cambodia. It was pretty quiet going until we reached the border at which point we all had to get out and hand our passports to the bus driver before entering a large wooden building. We waited on either side of a barrier as slowly but surely they read out the names of everyone who had provided their passports and you were allowed to make your way through to the other side. Cambodia was one of the places we had been unable to get a visa for in the UK so that was what they were doing with our passports. We piled back on to the bus again and traveled along the noticeably bumpier road towards Phnom Penh, the capital of Cambodia. The driver decided it was time to put on a Bollywood movie now so we watched a confusing story about a bad boy motorcycle driver and the girl who he couldn't get. It was confusing but colourful.
We arrived in a hot and sticky Phnom Penh late in the morning. We all piled out of the bus and were immediately surrounded by tuk tuk drivers keen to take us wherever we wanted to go. We picked/were picked by a nice young looking guy with a spacious looking tuk tuk. He drove us through town so that we could drop our bags off at the hostel. We were pretty hungry so asked the driver to find us somewhere to get some good Cambodian cuisine. The tuk tuk driver took us along the river in the centre of town and stopped in front of a Khmer restaurant. We encouraged him to join us for lunch so that we could get what he recommended and learn a bit more about Cambodia. There were lots of other tuk tuk drivers waiting outside, and along the streets, so ours was pretty lucky to have someone to drive around for the day. Our driver encouraged us to try the fish amok. It was spicy and creamy and very delicious. Turns out our driver was studying English and had gotten a scholarship to study at an Australian school. If he did well he would get to study in Australia. The tuk tuk driving was to pay the bills for his family.
After lunch our driver took us around the city showing us the sights before dropping us at the Royal Palace, which is a series of ornate structures which has served as the home of the King of Cambodia, although he doesn't actually live there now, because he has a big house in town. As you would expect the buildings are ornate with lots of statues, high gold pointed roofs and surrounded by beautiful gardens. You can't actually go in to most of the buildings so just need to enjoy them from the outside. One exception is the Silver Pagoda, which houses the Emerald Buddha, a small green Buddha situated high on on a ledge. There were a lot of people worshiping when we came to visit so we paid our respects for a while before continuing to walk around the complex, past ornate painted friezes and a miniature model of Ankhor Wat. We were perhaps a bit hasty in leaving the Silver Pagoda. All of a sudden the clouds rolled in and it started to pour. The rain was bucketing down. We fortunately found some shelter pretty quick but we saw plenty of other people drenched to the bone. The only ones who seemed to be enjoying themselves were the big toads who were coming out for a swim. The tiled squares had turned into swimming pools.
After a bit of a rest we needed to get some dinner. It was still raining pretty heavy, but we decided to go and check out some market food at the night market. The rain meant the place looked like a giant tarpaulin house and had seemed to keep people away because it wasn't too busy. We found a place to order some food and sat down at the little tables to eat our dinner. It was a all a bit grim to be honest. The food wasn't great, being just greasy and relatively tasteless. There were also a lot of children begging which made us sad. After a quick look around the market we decided to carry on, stopping for a drink at a local bar, where there were too many old white men with young Cambodian women, before heading back to the hostel to hit the hay.
PHNOM PENH - DAY 2
Unfortunately Cambodia is probably most famous for the oppressive regime of Pol Pot and the Khmer Rouge who oppressed and murdered their people like no other regime in recent history in an experiment in instantly transforming the country into an agrarian community with no major cities and no intellectual elite. Today we decided we would visit some of the sites that still remembered those dark times. Our driver from yesterday picked us up and took us to S21, the Tuol Sleng Genocide Museum, a former school which became a prison for political prisoners during Pol Pot's rule. It has been left more or less intact as to how it was discovered when the Khmer Rouge were overthrown. There are empty rooms containing bed frames, leg irons and pictures of the many victims who had lived and died in the prison. It was all pretty basic which just added to the sense that not even a coat of paint had gone on this place for the tourists. They also showed a documentary all about the prisoners who had been there, with a special focus on one woman and her life and the fact that the leaders of the Khmer Rouge regime are still on trial nearly 35 years after their regime was overthrown and many of them still deny any wrongdoing.
After that grim experience we returned to our driver only to find that there were other people in the Tuk
After a grim day we got our driver to take us somewhere where we could unwind a bit and have a bite to eat. We seemed to have timed things well because before long the torrential monsoon came in again so we spent the next little while eating some more Khmer food and having a couple of drinks. It had been an emotionally draining day so after chilling out at the hostel we stepped out again, grabbed a small bite for dinner and went to bed. It was an early start tomorrow.
PHNOM PENH TO SIEM REAP
We checked out of our hostel early and after getting a present of a piece of money wrapped up to look like a suit and tie our driver took us to the bus to Siem Reap. We had hoped to travel by ferry on the Tonle Sap lake through the middle of the country but eventually we had given up on that idea as everyone told us that at this time of year the water wasn't high enough and the ferry's often ended up stranded on sand bars. That didn't sound to appealing so eventually common sense prevailed and we decided to book the bus. We met our friends from yesterday and piled on to the bus. This wasn't one of the fancy coaches we had had to date. It was a reasonably basic but we had a seat each and there was room for our bags so no complaints. The journey itself was relatively uneventful. The consistent theme from the city to the country where we were now traveling was still the poverty. Life in the country was pretty basic. Shacks on sticks to keep things dry and pest free. Existence for these people must be pretty tough. We stopped along the way for a toilet and snack break. We decided to play it safe and bought some chippies rather than a bowl of fried bugs, which seemed to be the other main option.
It was mid-afternoon when the bus pulled in to a dusty lot in Siem Reap. Our driver from Phnom Penh had arranged for his brother to meet us and be our driver in Siem Reap, so before long we were on our way to our hostel. After arriving at the wrong place (who knew there would be two hostels with banana in the title?) we eventually got ourselves sorted and checked in. It was pretty fancy, with buddhist and hindu statues throughout the garden at the front and lots of dark wood paneling inside. It was hot, so the complimentary drink was very welcome. After dropping our bags upstairs and freshening up we met out driver again to go check out the famous sunrise over the temple of Angkor Wat. It was a fair drive out of town and the clouds seemed to be rolling in pretty quickly. Our driver assured us we had nothing to worry about so we continued on. We stopped at the edge of the
SIEM REAP - DAY 2
After last night's sunset debacle we decided we would give the sunrise a miss too. However, by the time we got going it was a pretty clear morning so we were happy with our choice. After breakfast we met our driver who took us out to Angkor Wat again. This time we had all day but we also had a lot to see. We made our way back into Angkor Wat and along the causeway to the main temple. There were still plenty of puddles around from last night's downpour. A close look in some of the puddles revealed that we didn't want to step in them, not because we were worried about the water but more because they seemed to be a favourite place for scorpions to have a swim...The temple itself is a huge square and along each of the walls are intricate carved friezes depicting various events from Khmer history. Keeping watch on the temple were many monkeys, mothers and babies watching you hoping you would give them some food. They were pretty cute but we didn't get too close. In the middle of the temple you climb up to a plateau where there are three towers that you can climb. It was pretty hot already and there were people sitting in the shade wherever it could be found. After a bit of water we climbed up the towers to get an amazing view of the surrounding jungle. Scattered around the temple were a number of Buddha statues, each of them draped with an orange robe and incense surrounding them. Even the damaged and broken Buddha statues were revered.
Many people end their tour at Angkor Wat but we decided to get our driver to take us around some other temples too. Next stop was Prasat Kravan. This was a much smaller temple of one big central red brick tower and several smaller towers all in a line. After that we visited Banteay Kdei. This was a bigger temple complex, although not nearly as tall as Angkor Wat. You entered through cool gates topped with Buddha heads. We felt a bit more like explorers in this temple. Much of the complex had not been restored and many roofs and walls were collapsed. Across the road is a man made lake Srah Srang. We had a look out over it and stopped at some of the stalls nearby to pick up souvenirs. It is a hard life for the people who live in the region, because they aren't really allowed to use any of the land to make a living so a lot of them have to resort to selling souvenirs around the place. We then carried on our way to visit Ta Prohm which made us feel even more like Indiana Jones and Lara Croft. Again it was full of collapsed walls and roofs. The jungle was also present throughout with trees having grown in and
around the walls giving a cool contrast against the stone walls and
carvings. We spent quite a bit of time here peeking in and out of the
nooks and crannies. Next up was the temple of Ta Keo. This one was like a pyramid with a flat top that had three towers on top. It was pretty hot now and with no shelter around it was hot going climbing up all the stairs to get to the top. As usual there were Buddha to be found in the towers.We stopped at a place across the road for lunch which the driver recommended. The food was pretty basic but it was tasty and kept us going. A lady and her children were doing the cooking. At one point chaos erupted and the children started running everywhere. The lady had a bag full of frogs and it had split with frogs going everywhere. The children were trying to catch them, our driver joined in and we even had a go although we aren't sure we were much help. One thing that was also prevalent, and sad, throughout the temple complex were little children, some of them maybe only 3 or 4, who had baskets full of souvenirs and had been taught a few English phrases to try and sell them. Some of these children were around where we were having lunch. We couldn't buy souvenirs from everyone but a few plastic tikis seemed to put some smiles on the kids faces. We carried on around the Grand Tour (that is the name of the route we were taking) and stopped at Chau Say Tevoda, a small complex of interconnected buildings across the road from Thommanon, a single tower temple with a couple of little buildings off to the side. It was also the site where we saw a big green snake. Fortunately it was dead and the ants were working at removing any evidence of its existence. Got to watch where you stand around these parts though.
Although Angkor Wat is the most well known temple in the region the biggest complex is Angkor Thom, which used to be the capital city of the Khmer Empire. You approach the huge walls along the road, which is guarded by statues on either side. You then enter through the massive gates and carry on through the jungle, with small buildings on either side until you come to the centre of the complex.There is a wall/walkway which runs down the centre of the complex. We climbed up onto the Leper King Terrace and carried on to the Terrace of the Elephants, which has many sculptures and carvings along it. We were pretty darn hot and tired after a long day, but we kept going along. We decided to skip the Royal Palace, but carried along the terrace until we got to the Baphuon Temple. There was a raised terrace to access this so we decided to check it out. It was another raised pyramid style temple which you could climb up and walk around the outside. The late afternoon clouds were starting to come in but we still had one more temple to see today. We were pleased that we did as the Bayon temple was one of the coolest ones we had seen all day. You climbed up through the entrance an into the upper terrace, where you were watched by 200 Buddha faces covering the towers all over the terrace. It was pretty amazing how they were able to make a structure that also had Buddha faces everywhere. As we were satisfied we had seen enough, the rain started to come down on us, so we scurried out of the temple and back to our driver to take us back to the hostel.
It had been a massive day and we were truly exhausted. Fortunately we had had some foresight and booked a Cambodian massage at the hostel. It was very welcome as they massaged out the hours of walking and clambering from the day. Weary and relaxed we had dinner at the hostel before a well earned sleep.
SIEM REAP - DAY 3
After a good night sleep we were up for some more temples. Our driver picked us up and away we went. Last night's rain was a thing of the past, but there were still some clouds around to keep the temperature a bit cooler. First stop was the temple of Pre Rup, another pyramid type temple in red brick with three towers on top. It was good to give our legs a stretch early on as they were a bit stiff from all the walking and climbing yesterday. Down the road we got another chance to climb at the temple of East Mabon, which was pretty similar to Pre Rup, although a bit more run down.
These were the first stop on the Small Tour, but we decided to take a break from that and head off on a long 45 minute drive on the Tuk Tuk to Banteay Srei a temple away from the rest, but still a huge draw for the tourists, as the buses and visitor centre proved. It was pretty impressive, with red bricks and was almost like a mini version of some of the other temples we had seen, with mini towers, mini walls and incredibly detailed carvings and statues throughout. It was surrounded by nice green forest and although the place was busy with tourists it still felt peaceful.
After the look around we jumped back on the Tuk Tuk and travelled back to the main part of Angkor, past children riding bikes and little wooden huts where people lived. We stopped along the way and our driver picked up a soft drink bottle full of brown liquid from a bamboo rack outside someone's house. You wouldn't want to drink this one though. Instead it was for pouring into the Tuk Tuk. It was petrol! After stopping for lunch, we carried on down the road where we got another chance to climb at the temple of East
Mabon, which was pretty similar to Pre Rup, although a bit more run
down, although one of the terraces had some cool Elephant Statues along it.
We crossed over the river in the Tuk Tuk and visited the temple Ta Som. This was another small temple with a Buddha Head entrance gate. It was kind of like a square house inside with a tower in the middle. These smaller temples were much quieter so it was nice to just wander around and soak up the history and culture. Next up was Neak Pean, a very different temple than what we had seen so far. You walk along a long path with wetlands either side (probably full of snakes and scorpions...) until you come to a gate. On the other side of the gate was a moat, although with no water in it when we were there so they could undertake restoration work. in the middle of the space was a little tower which acted as a temple and hospital when it was built. You couldn't cross the gate but it was nice to see something different.
We jumped back in the Tuk Tuk and it took us further along the road to Preah Khan. The grounds of this temple are nearly as big as Angkor Wat but not nearly as high and grand. We walked down the wide path with statues along it on either side, politely declining to buy the books that boys were selling along the way. You walk through the tower gates and greeted by long Nagi on either side as the path continues. There is a sprawling house/temple complex on the other side. It is still not that restored so there are a lot of ruins that you have to clamber over to get around. The forest has made its way into this complex too. We spent some time walking around and then made our way back out to the driver.
We headed back down towards Angkor Thom, but we had visited that yesterday so just drove straight through, past the temples and terraces we had walked all over. Our next stop was Phnom Bakheng, but unlike the rest of them it wasn't just a case of driving up to the door. This temple is atop a hill, so you have to follow a path that winds up and around to get to the top. The temple is another pyramid style temple (these are actually mountain style, but you get the idea). Once you reach it you can climb up the stairs and as we climbed higher and look out we got a view over all of the temples that we had been visiting over the past couple of days. Apparently it is a popular place to watch the sunset over Angkor Wat. We hadn't timed it right for that but it was still impressive. This was the last temple we were going to visit and was a really nice way to wrap up our visit to Angkor.
By this time it was early afternoon. Our driver had encouraged us to go see a Khmer cultural performance and dinner, so we agreed for him to set it up for us. As we had a bit of time, he took us to a local monument to the many people who had died when the Khmer Rouge had ruled. Phnom Penh wasn't the only place that had suffered.
The cultural performance was in a large hall and as you expect at these sorts of things there was a large buffet dinner with plenty to choose from, both Western and Khmer. It was pretty tasty. Marcus tried some of the gooey noodle stuff in thick milk, which seemed to be a popular dessert, but Jess wasn't game. We watched the dancers and singers and performers twirl and twist their hands with elaborate tall headdresses as they moved around the stage before our driver picked us up and dropped us back at the hostel for a well earned rest.
SIEM REAP - DAY 4
We woke on our last day in Siem Reap and after having breakfast at the hostel, we went to check out a cultural crafts centre across the road. It was a series of buildings that operated as both a craft school for local young people to learn how to perform traditional crafts like wood carving, leather work, metal work and jewellery making. We walked around each of the rooms to watch people working on the crafts before visiting the shop. There was some amazing stuff for sale but it was all outside of our budget at this stage of the trip so we decided to head into town and check out the local market to see what they had instead.
We walked along the river and crossed a traditional bridge. We went to a money machine to get some
cash before visiting the market when we were stopped by a pregnant woman with a baby in her arms asking for us to buy her baby formula from the local supermarket. We decided that we would help her out and Marcus accompanied her to the shop where she bought a tin of infant formula. After that sad detour we wandered a couple of blocks until we reached the local market. It was similar to many markets we had seen on our travels although each of the stallholders had a little shop, rather than simply a table like we had sometimes seen. You could buy all sorts, from fruit, veges, meat, counterfeit books and of course many many souvenirs. We had a particular souvenir in mind, as it was an image we had not seen in any other country, the Naga. We searched high and low and although there were many cool Naga statues they were all too big and there is no way we would have been able to fit them in our bags.
Eventually we compromised on a small Buddha statue with a series of Naga around its head.
We were happy we had seen what we needed to in Siem Reap, so after grabbing some lunch at Pub Street, watching the world pass us by, we made our back to the hostel where our driver was waiting to take us to the airport. We had decided to fly to Bangkok, our next destination, as we had heard that the roads across the border were really windy and horrible to travel. We passed under the King of Cambodia and his parents before boarding our plane and winging our way to Bangkok.
https://picasaweb.google.com/JessicaLMcMillan/May2012Cambodia
It had been a massive day and we were truly exhausted. Fortunately we had had some foresight and booked a Cambodian massage at the hostel. It was very welcome as they massaged out the hours of walking and clambering from the day. Weary and relaxed we had dinner at the hostel before a well earned sleep.
SIEM REAP - DAY 3
After a good night sleep we were up for some more temples. Our driver picked us up and away we went. Last night's rain was a thing of the past, but there were still some clouds around to keep the temperature a bit cooler. First stop was the temple of Pre Rup, another pyramid type temple in red brick with three towers on top. It was good to give our legs a stretch early on as they were a bit stiff from all the walking and climbing yesterday. Down the road we got another chance to climb at the temple of East Mabon, which was pretty similar to Pre Rup, although a bit more run down.
These were the first stop on the Small Tour, but we decided to take a break from that and head off on a long 45 minute drive on the Tuk Tuk to Banteay Srei a temple away from the rest, but still a huge draw for the tourists, as the buses and visitor centre proved. It was pretty impressive, with red bricks and was almost like a mini version of some of the other temples we had seen, with mini towers, mini walls and incredibly detailed carvings and statues throughout. It was surrounded by nice green forest and although the place was busy with tourists it still felt peaceful.
We crossed over the river in the Tuk Tuk and visited the temple Ta Som. This was another small temple with a Buddha Head entrance gate. It was kind of like a square house inside with a tower in the middle. These smaller temples were much quieter so it was nice to just wander around and soak up the history and culture. Next up was Neak Pean, a very different temple than what we had seen so far. You walk along a long path with wetlands either side (probably full of snakes and scorpions...) until you come to a gate. On the other side of the gate was a moat, although with no water in it when we were there so they could undertake restoration work. in the middle of the space was a little tower which acted as a temple and hospital when it was built. You couldn't cross the gate but it was nice to see something different.
We jumped back in the Tuk Tuk and it took us further along the road to Preah Khan. The grounds of this temple are nearly as big as Angkor Wat but not nearly as high and grand. We walked down the wide path with statues along it on either side, politely declining to buy the books that boys were selling along the way. You walk through the tower gates and greeted by long Nagi on either side as the path continues. There is a sprawling house/temple complex on the other side. It is still not that restored so there are a lot of ruins that you have to clamber over to get around. The forest has made its way into this complex too. We spent some time walking around and then made our way back out to the driver.
We headed back down towards Angkor Thom, but we had visited that yesterday so just drove straight through, past the temples and terraces we had walked all over. Our next stop was Phnom Bakheng, but unlike the rest of them it wasn't just a case of driving up to the door. This temple is atop a hill, so you have to follow a path that winds up and around to get to the top. The temple is another pyramid style temple (these are actually mountain style, but you get the idea). Once you reach it you can climb up the stairs and as we climbed higher and look out we got a view over all of the temples that we had been visiting over the past couple of days. Apparently it is a popular place to watch the sunset over Angkor Wat. We hadn't timed it right for that but it was still impressive. This was the last temple we were going to visit and was a really nice way to wrap up our visit to Angkor.
By this time it was early afternoon. Our driver had encouraged us to go see a Khmer cultural performance and dinner, so we agreed for him to set it up for us. As we had a bit of time, he took us to a local monument to the many people who had died when the Khmer Rouge had ruled. Phnom Penh wasn't the only place that had suffered.
The cultural performance was in a large hall and as you expect at these sorts of things there was a large buffet dinner with plenty to choose from, both Western and Khmer. It was pretty tasty. Marcus tried some of the gooey noodle stuff in thick milk, which seemed to be a popular dessert, but Jess wasn't game. We watched the dancers and singers and performers twirl and twist their hands with elaborate tall headdresses as they moved around the stage before our driver picked us up and dropped us back at the hostel for a well earned rest.
SIEM REAP - DAY 4
We woke on our last day in Siem Reap and after having breakfast at the hostel, we went to check out a cultural crafts centre across the road. It was a series of buildings that operated as both a craft school for local young people to learn how to perform traditional crafts like wood carving, leather work, metal work and jewellery making. We walked around each of the rooms to watch people working on the crafts before visiting the shop. There was some amazing stuff for sale but it was all outside of our budget at this stage of the trip so we decided to head into town and check out the local market to see what they had instead.
We walked along the river and crossed a traditional bridge. We went to a money machine to get some
Eventually we compromised on a small Buddha statue with a series of Naga around its head.
We were happy we had seen what we needed to in Siem Reap, so after grabbing some lunch at Pub Street, watching the world pass us by, we made our back to the hostel where our driver was waiting to take us to the airport. We had decided to fly to Bangkok, our next destination, as we had heard that the roads across the border were really windy and horrible to travel. We passed under the King of Cambodia and his parents before boarding our plane and winging our way to Bangkok.
https://picasaweb.google.com/JessicaLMcMillan/May2012Cambodia
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