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Published: August 5th 2010
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Angkor Wat
The money shot. Too bad they were doing a bit of work on the front while we were there. So Vientiane was pretty uneventful. Just didn't seem like a lot was going on in that town and it was an easy decision to make it an overnight stopover. Next stop on the plan was Siem Reap in Cambodia. After checking a few travel options we learned that the only way to go direct to Cambodia is via a flight, or a 40 hour bus trip to the south of Laos. Neither option sounded so appealing. The flight sounded easy enough but it would automatically ruin the romantic notion of traveling overland through the region. Flights are definitely a last resort. Instead we decided to break up the journey by crossing back into Thailand and spending a couple of days in Bangkok. There are far worse fates than having to spend another couple days in that amazing city. Bangkok was how we had left it, despite another bombing by the red shirts a few days ago. For all the media attention that situation gets, the city seems to be business as usual for travelers.
Next up was a seemingly simple bus trip to Siem Reap, the town servicing Angkor Wat in Cambodia. The scams at the border are numerous and
annoying. I had read and heard plenty of stories of people falling for these tricks and getting cheated out on a lot of money, so I felt prepared to tackle the border with hopefully as little drama as possible. Our first mistake was booking a bus trip leaving from Khao San Road, despite multiple sources telling me not to. It seemed just way too convenient at the time. The first scam happened before we even got on the bus. Some guy from the bus company asked if we had visas for cambodia, which we did not as you can get one at the border for 20USD. Of course he practically swore on his life that this wasn't true and I had to get my visa from him for 1200baht (about 40USD). After an annoying argument we finally managed to refuse him and get on the bus without losing our money. Before crossing the border the bus stops again for lunch and I get the same spiel from another guy from the bus company. He blatantly lies to our faces when telling us that we can't cross the border without a visa. After refusing to give him any money he threatens
to kick us off the bus that we already paid for. Another annoying argument ensued and we finally managed to get back on the bus once it got underway. Next stop was the border where, guess what, we got a visa for 20USD which only took about 30 seconds.
The Cambodian town across the border is called Poi Pet. Gambling is illegal in Thailand and Cambodia, but there is a thin stretch of land between the borders which is jammed full of casinos, very popular with Thais. Not much else of a reason to stick around and we hired a taxi to take us the rest of the way to Siem Reap. The country side on the way was quite eye-opening. Cambodia is quite far behind it's neighbors when it comes to development. Gasoline is sold at road side stands in used plastic soft drink bottles and houses and shops are almost as basic as it gets. Despite this everyone seems unrealistically happy and friendly.
Siem Reap is of course a totally different story to the rest of the country. I'm assuming something like 90% of tourists to Cambodia fly into Siem Reap and only stay a few
Ta Prohm
from outside days to see Angkor before flying out. The town is chock full of modern restaurants and luxury hotels. It also has a street imaginatively named "pub street" which is wall to wall night clubs, restaurants and pubs filled with foreigners. At the time I'm writing this we've already been to a few other stops in Cambodia and the rest of the country could not be any more different.
And finally to the point. Angkor Wat and the surrounding temples are the reason for Siem Reap's existence, and rightly so. It would take weeks to explore the hundreds of ancient temples and structures in the area. We had to tackle it all in one long day, so we ignored the lesser stops and just hit up the main attractions all at once. We hired a tuk tuk driver for the day who managed to work out the best schedule to see all the best stuff. I don't want to get into a huge description of the temples or the history surrounding them. It would go on for ages. Suffice to say everything we saw was absolutely incredible and everyone has to put a visit to Angkor at the top of
their "to do"lists. The itinerary was...
1st - Ta Prohm. Not the biggest or best temple but still the funnest to visit. The temple has not been restored like the rest of the temples, leaving it choked and overrun by the jungle. Very IndianaJonesy.
2nd - Angkor Thom. A huge walled city, once contained more than one million inhabitants. Only the stone castles and temples remain, as well as the huge wall surrounding and the gates. Including Phnom Bakheng and the elephant terrace, as well as probably 100 other amazing things.
3rd - Bayon. The weirdest temple we saw that day. includes 54 towers with four faces each.
And finally the main attraction. Angkor Wat which is the largest religious site anywhere in the world. Incredible what the Khmers were able to do nearly a century ago.
This is still nearly a week behind where we are now. We've been around Cambodia a bit now and I will update on the rest of the happenings soon.
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Aunt Karen
non-member comment
Good for you for standing up to the aggressive bus company. I probably would have folded immediately and offered the guy twice what he was asking. I do want to see Angkor Wat before it falls down or is destroyed by over-tourism. Keep the notes coming.