31 Jan - 07 Feb (7 Nights)
While our trip in northern Thailand was coming to an end and our friend's holiday was almost half way through, we tried to figure out our next destination. It was not easy to choose between Laos and Cambodia as both are very interesting countries. The ancient temples of Angor near Siem Reap made Cambodia more attractive - at least for now. A week is what we could afford to spend here, but we would like to come back and explore less touristic places in the country.
The Pol Pot's [wikiurl] bloody regime left Cambodian population very young (an average age is 21.7 years) and even the youngest work hard to pay for their (and often also their families) education and other necessities. Already by sunrise, many young children selling everything from copied books to postcards lingered around the temples, before they took off to school. We repeatedly heard the "one dollah" phrase from the vendors or tuk-tuk drivers.
Cambodians speaks good English. Children and monks were eager to practice their English and stopped us frequently to chat.
Bangkok to Siem Reap
31 Jan
After getting off the train at the last stop in Aranyaprathet (Thailand), we took a short drive with tuk-tuk (three-wheel motorbike taxi) to (what we thought was) the Cambodian boarder. Instead the driver took us to a so-called Travel Lounge on the Thai side, where their representative tried to convince us that we needed a pre-arranged visa to enter the country and that they will ‘help' us to arrange that and also further travel arrangements in the country. Since we already did some research on the topic, we knew it was not true. The boarder crossing and visa arrangement turned out to be hassle-free and cheaper - obviously.
The scam continued at the Cambodian side, were a ‘free' shuttle bus took us to a bus terminal, from where we could continue to Siem Reap. This turned out to be a ‘private' bus and taxi terminal in the middle of nowhere, charging hefty amounts for their services. When we asked to be taken to a public terminal or at least back to the boarder for another mean of transport, they got aggressive and rude. It was getting late and soon there will not be any public busses to Siem Reap or enough daylight to get us there, thus we eventually bargain for a taxi ride with them. The road was in very bad condition, due to outgoing construction work all the way to Siem Reap.
What came to our attention later was that ‘all' taxies in the area were working for the people behind the private bus terminal. As the ‘free' shuttle bus also the taxies made sure to bring you here....
Siem Reap
1 - 7 Feb
This dusty town is experiencing a real estate boom, Chinese and Korean leading it.
In order to support local business, we stayed in a cozy local owned guesthouse for 10 USD a night with all the necessities provided.
Siem Reap is definitely touristic town, because of its proximity to the temples. Numerous tuk-tuks are waiting to be hired for sightseeing around the temples, which is convenient and flexible, but bring a mask because of the dust.
Angkor Temples & Ruins
The ancient area is a UNESCO World Heritage Site and it contains thousands of temples and ruins scattered around the earlier Khmer empire that ruled for over 600 years (from 802 A.D. to 1431 A.D.)
An interesting quote from Wikipedia (for those interested in the history):
In 2007 an international team of researchers using satellite photographs and other modern techniques concluded that Angkor had been the largest preindustrial city in the world with an urban sprawl of 3000 sq km. The closest rival to Angkor, the Mayan city of Tikal in Guatemala, was between 100 and 150 sq km in total size. Angkor could have supported a population of up to one million people.
The most famous temples and sites are overcrowded with visitors, but with so many temples to choose from it isn't hard to find a quiet, secluded place. They all have their charm and beauty.
We spent three days (plus one sunset) exploring the temples with a tuk-tuk as the mean of transport. Every day we would leave the guesthouse at around 5 a.m. to enjoy the sunrise in different locations.
Many of the temples are located in peaceful surrounding in the jungle and many are dedicated to the Hindu god Shiva, to the Buddha or to the King's family. There is an ongoing restoration work as the jungle is threatening the structures, the trees seems to find their way to penetrate the temples' walls.
Places we visited (in order):
- Angkor Wat (sunset) - the largest of monuments at Angkor and also the best-preserved temple.
- Srah Srang (sunrise) - a huge ancient pool for kings.
- Temples; Banteay Kdei, Pre Rup, East Mebon and famous Ta Prohm who owns its popularity for the Tomb Rider movie with Angelina Jolie, which was partly filmed here.
- Angkor Thom, means "Big City" and Bayon (sunrise - many stone face towers), Khleang Towers, Terrace of Elephants, Baphuon, Royal Palace, Preah Palilay, Preah Khan are all part of this ancient city.
- Sunrise over Angkor Wat - We had to come back to catch the magnificent site in the light of sunset as well.
- Other temples; Phnom Bakhaeng, Ta Keo, Ta Nei (a magical temple hidden in the jungle) and Banteay Srei.
On the way to Thailand
7 - 8 Feb
After 1,5 day of continuous traveling by three buses and a boat, we finally arrived at our destination: Ko Phayam island in southern Thailand. Read Thailand blog: ([link] + update Thailand blog with this url)
* Source Lonely Planet Cambodia (6th Edition) and Wikipedia
Cambodia photo collection:
http://www.flickr.com/photos/perove/collections/72157620588326914/
Map of Cambodia
View Cambodia in a larger map