Angkor Wat, Cambodia 21st - 24th July

Through the border and beyond

We got up early on Monday 21st July to catch a bus from Bangkok's Northern Bus Terminal, Morchit to Aranya Prathet near the Thai-Cambodian border. The bus journey took 4 hours and then we hired a tuk tuk to the border about 6 miles away. At the border we paid slightly more than quoted in the Lonely Planet because we got our visas on the Thai side rather than in-between the Thai and Cambodian side. Once all the paperwork was complete we had to walk through the actual border passing through 'emigration' and 'immigration'.

After nearly an hour of crossing the border we were dripping with sweat and our backs ached under the weight of our bags. It was therefore a relief to see a placard with our names on it held up by a friendly Cambodian man who escorted us onto a bus and then to our pre-booked taxi. I was so pleased that we had arranged a taxi through the guesthouse we were staying at and therefore did not have to catch a bus which apparently took twice as long or negotiate a price with another taxi.

The long and

Angkor Wat (2)

bumpy road

Our journey via taxi took 3 hours from Poipet (the border town) to Siem Reap where we were staying and was certainly memorable! Mike had warned me that the road was bad, but I did not realise quite how bad. The road was basically an uneven dirt track with rocks jutting out, huge holes and many diversions forcing the road into a single carriageway. The diverted road usually fell away into a paddy field and it was quite frightening at times being confronted with oncoming lorries. Poor Sian had a stiff neck from her ferry journey to the islands which did not benefit from the added jarring of the road.

Although the taxi driver was obviously very proficient having to travel on the road daily, he went far too fast for my liking and even managed to acquire a flat tyre form driving too quickly over a large pothole! I think we were all relieved to finally see the guesthouse.

Angkor Wat

We hired a moto (scooter plus carriage) and driver by the name of Itchiwan (aka Itchiwan Kanobe) to take us around Angkor over 2 days. Our first stop on our sightseeing tour was Angkor Wat which was stunning surrounded by a moat. There were many children around Angkor Wat selling souvenirs aimed at foreigners. Sian and I both succumbed to their charms and bought things. However I got branded a 'liar' because apparently I said I was going to buy a bracelet when I clearly did not. We soon learnt it is best to say 'no' rather than 'we will come back later'.

After Angkor Wat we visited several other temples of Angkor including Bayon which was magnificent with 54 towers presenting 216 different faces of an ancient king depicting his all seeing presence over his kingdom, Baphuan and Terrace of the Elephants. It was extremely hot (although less humid than Thailand) and very tiring so we were glad to stop for lunch. Along with the staple diet of rice Lisa and I went for the whole coconuts for our drink. Using a machete they hack the top off and plonk 2 straws in the milk - tasty. After drinking it, Mike insisted on them splitting the coconut in two so he could eat the coconut, well his motto does appear to be 'waste not want not'!

After lunch we visited the Terrace of the Leper King and Preah Khan. At about 5.30pm we climbed a hill to the temple, Phnom Bakheng where we watched the sunset. Unfortunately it was a cloudy day, but it was very atmospheric watching the sun go down with about 100 other tourists of all different nationalities.

Sunrise

On Wednesday we got up early to see the sunrise. Itchiwan picked us up at 5am and took us to Angkor Wat where we watched the sunrise up behind it - it was beautiful. After breakfast Itchiwan took us to 4 other temples, including one where part of Tomb Raider was set, Ta Prohm. Ta Prohm was impressive with several large trees embedded into the stone walls. Sian then went to buy a handmade flute and started an impromptu orchestra in the process - she was offered all kinds of musical instruments to buy when all she wanted was one flute. In the end she bought 4 flutes in an effort to not hurt anyones feelings.

After a slap up meal Sian retired to bed, 30 seconds had elapsed and then she came sprinting into the restaurant urgently needing Mike's help upstairs. Mike and I immediately knew that it meant there was a spider in our room. It was massive and it was on Mike's pillow. The only container big enough to hold it was a bin as Mike did not want spider guts all over his pillow. A careful operation ensued using the bin, a pillow and a teatowel which resulted in the successful eviction of our mulit-legged friend. I required a full room sweep after this event and none of us slept well that night despite assurances that it was not poisonous.

Cambodia was clearly much poorer than Thailand for there were many beggers around especially in the evenings and it was sad to see so many children selling on behalf of their parents. When we arrived in Siem Reap it was surreal seeing all the 5 star hotels amongst all the poverty. All in all the Cambodians we met were all very polite and helpful and spoke excellent English, suprising when you consider the volatile history of the country.

---

---