Cambodia continues

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When the bus finally pulled out of Phenom Penh I was lulled back to sleep with the itunes blaring. 6 hours later we opened our doors within the French stylized streets and moto drivers with hotel pamphlets shoved in our faces. Battambang! It sounds best if you yell it out loudly, I promise!! Having chosen the hotel just a few moments earlier made the transport choice so much easier. Within moments we were whisked away and settled in our rooms.


I joined fellow Brits Oz and Emma for a bite to eat before beginning the tour of the town. Why I ordered Thai food in Cambodia is a bit silly I know, but tom yum soup has become a top ten favourite for me. And accompanied by the grape shake certainly gave the previous watermelon shakes a run for their money!! The walk around town was calm with points of interest around every corner. The school children yelling hello to us followed by the garlic workers (tidying the excess bulb paper before bagging) shying away from the camera. The number of 'American' schools was a bit of a surprise, although it showed an understanding of parents knowing their children have a better start knowing the english language. One moto driver later told me that he paid $15 per month for his 4 year old son to spend 3 hours a day learning the english language. It's fairly significant amount considering his entire household income was $120 per month.


The buildings along the streets of Battambang still carry the French Colonial architecture. It's a style I never assumed to be a part of Cambodia, but then I've also learned through many issues in life to never assume. It was slightly amusing to see the number of statues within the roundabouts or park edges. Not just tiny statues I might add, as they were up to 60 feet high!


The following morning I worked my way through the intense back aches and pains of having ridden on a bus for too many hours the day previous. Determined to find a massage at some point within the day, I proceeded towards the cooking class that I had signed up for at 'The Boiling Pot' restaurant. For those that might have sat in on one of my food hygiene courses in the past, you might not want to read on. You must know however, that the end result would have made Jamie Oliver jealous! Travelling can certainly change some of your standards, but it's mostly for the better. The class started by touring the local market stalls for ingredients. Learning the art of holding back the smell sense can sometimes be quite critical here, although some of the sights were just as terrifying to my western pallate! We bought some fresh coconut, some morning glory and a few other bits and bobs. Perhaps for my benefit, we continued to walk past the frogs, miniature wild birds and slabs of meat covered in flies. It was here that I learned that the eggs I have seen sold so many times on the street, are all fertalized duck eggs. They are sold at different stages (19 days or 24 days) and after being boiled they are consumed straight from the shell...mini duck and all. Not quite what I was hoping to learn how to cook!


Returning to the restaurant I had a chance to look around the kitchen. The fridge was an ice box, the sink was a drain in the floor, the water supply was a large bucket of water and the cooking apparatus was a portable gas connected stovetop. Having eaten some amazing Khmer meals all ready and knowing they would have come from the same setup, I could only tip my hat to the chef and hope to take on the same skills in my kitchen one day. So it was time to start cooking and the other pupil (Kiwi Jennifer) and I chose a sour soup, a beef and ginger stir fry and a lok luk. We pounded a curry paste, squeezed out the coconut milk and sliced slivers of meat. I was thankful to be taking the recipe book home with me as the end result will be a yummy reminder when I make it back home one day.


My next adventure in Battambang involved jumping onto a moto towards the outskirts of Cambodia's second biggest city (population 80,000). The fresh air from green surroundings would put a smile on anybody's face. I saw more Cambodian women parading down the dirt track in silk pajamas, mini horses pulling loads the size of most local houses, and rice fields awaiting the harvest. We stopped at the local bamboo train which sucks in a few tourists each day, although is still used by the locals for transport of goods. Several families own a bamboo platform that simply sits ontop of some wheels on the track. Once the motorcycle engine is attached it's all go! Some of the local kids joined me for a short ride (as I would only give them $1) and I then endured much intrigue and laughter. As soon as I brought the camera out and began singing, dancing and laughing with them, I though I would have problems separating these children from my hip. Good good times in Cambodia.


The next morning I boarded a speedboat heading towards Siem Reap, also known as the town closest to Angkor Wot. The boat was certainly different than the submarine from the south with it's wooden benches. We began the journey at quite a speed within the wide brown Sangker River. When I finally climbed onto the roof for a better view I seemed to attract many waves of hello from the shoreline or passing boats. Everybody I saw was swimming, fishing, brushing their teeth, catching fish, mending the roof or just smiling as I passed. Life along the water is definitly what I most wanted to see in this country, so I took it all in with a smile for yet another day.


After a couple of hours and a lunch stop I began to notice the wide expanse of the river was no longer. We were now crossing the flooded plains towards Tonle Sap. As this is still the end of the rainy season, we were still able to make our way past the submerged trees in our long boat. It was a sight I didn't expect to see and cherished the uniqueness of the moment. Bugs crawled all over the roof of the boat amongst the broken branches and torn leaves. I saw a yellow frog approaching my bag so I zoomed in with my camera. When the slime then landed on me I yelped and scrambled, but laughed soon after. My eye then started to sting as I searched blindly for water. When the Cambodian then lept to my assistance I was slightly freaked out to learn that this frog can blind a person from it's urine/skin surface. Oooops, luckily I can still see.


Once the boat pulled up to the village on the edge of the Tonle Sap, all westerners on the boat were swarmed with moto and tuktuk drivers. Having pre-arranged my accomodation, I stolled over to the chap holding my name. It's a free ride into town but of course the hopes are that you use them to tour around all of the temples in the days to come. I decided against the first accomodation, and the second, and the third, luckily the fourth was a winner. Being forced to make a decision then and there regarding future transport needs is a pressure that the drivers thrive off of. As I don't succumb to any pressures at all these days, when I turned my heel towards the bar my driver chased me for a moment and then acepted defeat. The beer at the Sunset Bar was certainly a winner.


I was rather surprised when I strolled into town and saw streets filled with so many bars and restaurants, especially for a town mostly known for it's nearby temples. Several places have cashed in with Angelina Jolie stills from her role in Tomb Raider, a film that many Cambodians feel opened the worlds eyes to the historic and natural wonders of their land. Is this possible? Angelina has put Cambodia on the map? I don't think so, there is a lot more to be said for this country, and I haven't even seen the temples yet!!


When the knock at my door awoke me from my slumber at 4:30 am, I remembered signing up for a sunrise tour of the temples. What was I thinking? I threw my clothes on and jumped onto the bike and woke up quickly. I joined many other tourists hoping to catch some unique colours through the heights and splendors of Angkor Wot. I found a spot with the right angle, immediatly regreting not having a tripod, but waited in a western style squat. And then the rains came and the sun rose hiding behind the white clouds. Not quite what I was hoping for but as I'm up all ready, time to explore.


The corridors and doorways leading towards the peaks within the center were covered with such carved detail that I had to double check that I wasn't actually seeing double. It was then that I noticed that the dancing figures with their flexed hands and fingers, had been cared for my many over the years. Their boobs had been polished to reveal a shiny glow that almost cought the sunlight, even behind the clouds! When I approached the stairs leading to the top of the temple, I heard the advice from several travellers I've met along the way. "It's a lot higher and steeper than you think, especially when making your way DOWN". No worries for me of course, I'm Canadian, I can climb mountains. The view was spectacular and certainly worth the teetering climb up. So now it's time to climb back down.


I started with confidence as I'm sure most people do. Height is certainly a factor, but the real nerve racking point is that your foot will only fit on the step sideways, and it's a slippery wet step at that. It might have been 10 or 15 steps down when I decided to actually look down. Getting flustered with fear at this point isn't really something I expected, and balancing myself with shaky nerves was not the best option...so I climbed back up again. Hhhhhhhhmmmmm, now what? Lucky for me I wasn't laughed at but recomended to attempt another staircase at the other end that had some side stones my hands could cling to. Thank God for that! When I reached the base I looked up and stuck my tongue out, it felt right at the moment but I hope nobody was looking.


When I returned to my moto driver there was no exchange of words. Have I taken too long all ready? As it was still only 7am I had no guilt jumping on the back and driving to the next temple. And it was certainly a temple to make you smile. I do actually wonder how many smiles were on the grounds of Bayon, as the King who had the temple built had actually put his own face on each peak.


I then walked over to the elephant terrace, the Baphuon and many other temples. Before I knew it, it was all ready 1pm and it felt like I had seen everything in the area, although this was hardly the case. I was approaching the moment of temple overload, but there was one more in store for me for the day. Ta Prohm was where Tomb Raider was filmed, and Angelina strutted her stuff past the trees growing out of the walls. It really is quite a sight to see, and every corner I turned I thought I had seen the best sight only to be bowled over by the size of the next. Cut stones tumbled in the front, and roots dripped down the walls above. Wow. What a great way to end my tour of temples for the day.


Back at the Garden Village accomodation, I headed for the bar. I was in a bit of a grumpy mood having bought a 3 day pass to the temples, and feeling that 1 day would have sufficed. I sucked back my beer and watched silly movies and finally was in the mood to speak with those around me. Hester from Holland and Jane from the UK were such a pleasure to meet, as they too are travelling on their own. We decided to head to a bar in town, a trend to be continued often. Several beers later we began our stumble back to the accomodation laughing at the guys that had joined us at our table. Munchies took over and we grabbed a late night bite from one of the street stalls. It was hard to watch the local children still roaming up and down the roads looking for westerners to beg for money from. A hard fact that anybody visiting Cambodia has to endure, even at 3am.


After breakfast with the girls, I decided to take an easy lazy day in town. Jane was in the same frame of mind so we waved Hester goodbye as she trudged over to the temples. We sat in the coffee shop gossiping and listening to ipods when the skies became too heavy and released floods of rain. One hour passed, two, then three. Still raining. I thought of poor Hester exploring temples on the back of a moto and confirmed that my lazy day had been a wise decision.


Just before the sun set, Jane and I found enough energy to walk over to have a massage. The massage center was staffed by blind people so we felt supportive of some of Cambodias victims from some of the countries past atrocities. Blind people certainly attune different senses as it was massage that sent me back to the land of zzzzzzz's.


For dinner that night we met up with Oz and Emma (from Battambang) at a funky restaurant called Dead Fish. I didn't actually see the crocodiles in the streams en route to the loo, but knowing they were there was entertaining enough. We watched a few traditional dances, played many card games and were finally kicked out at 1am. And yes, it was still raining.


We started off the next day by renting bikes and heading to the Butterfly Bar. 2000 butterflies flutter within the enclosed area whilst we sat below drinking lemonades and reading our books. It was so calming and comforting that I didn't manage to leave in time to see more temples. Oh well, Siem Reap has a lot to offer as well. We rode over to a nearby temple and found some children to laugh and play with. Taking photos with the kids in Cambodia has always turned out to be moments of intense smiling and ongoing entertainment. When we continued our bike journey we saw local houses with their front door steps submerged within muddy water. It didn't seem to change any of the day to day rituals, as laundry still hung on the lines and chickens adapted their walking routes.


What would be the final dinner for the 3 gals on the town ended up being a night with nmore beers, more photos playing with the kids, and a decision to stay just another night. We have all sharpened our card playing skills so much so why break up the party now?


So, for the final day in Siem Reap we rented bikes again and enjoyed a western style breakfast, a bit of shopping and a little bit too long at the ipod shop downloading new tunes. We then explored the town, the local temples, the bar, another bar and a restaurant. It's been an absolutely fabulous extended few days here and the company has been such an uplift to my trip sofar. So much so, that I have decided to not go to Vietnam right away and will instead be joining Hester towards eastern Cambodia.


So there you have it for this entry. I hope everybody is super dooper good as always and I look forward to hearing more updates on life not on the road.


And if Jane is reading this...we lost your email address!!! Write to us and i can post you those stamps!

Fiona

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