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Published: August 7th 2007
If the first weird thing I saw in Laos was a wild monkey in the middle of the city, in Cambodia I was surprised to see people walking in pyjamas in the middle of the day. It seems to be a totally acceptable outfit here - the more teddy bears or cartoon characters in the pattern the better.
The overland journey from 4000 islands to Siem Reap wasn't an easy or short one. On the first day the trip included four bus changes (for the reasons unbeknownst to me - all the buses were more or less similar) and took 11 hours. Most of the people from the group were going to Phnom Penh, just a Chinese girl and me were dropped off in Kampong Cham where we stayed overnight before continuing another five hours by a local bus.
You could tell immediately in Kampong Cham that that we were in another country now. Apart from people's clothing everything was much more chaotic, and you could see pony carriages everywhere. That’s something you wouldn't encounter in Thailand or Laos. The guesthouse where the bus dropped us off (of course somehow related to the tour organiser) was horrible and I
refused to stay there. An English pub owner next door advised where to go for the hotel hunt - and where not, as some of the hotels were hiring rooms on the hourly basis only...! Unfortunately both hotels recommended by him were full and me and the mute Chinese girl shadowing me (she really didn't speak English at all - I don't understand how she survives travelling alone) were left to find the place from somewhere else than the obvious choice of the riverfront. After a few misses (the places offering 'massage' rather than traditional accomodation) it became quite clear what were the qualities distinguishing the normal places and the ones we didn't want. The problem was that we couldn’t find any normal ones! All the credits to the Chinese girl, as it was eventually her who spotted a decent place with friendly owners.
Arriving to Siem Reap was a bit of shock. I had been warned that people are more aggressive and at your face, but I didn't expect two dozen tuk tuk drivers attacking me (I was the only westerner) in a second I stepped out from the bus. They all came really close and shouted their
price... Now I know how the film stars feel when surrounded by the groups of paparazzi. Luckily the transport to the hotel was included in the price of the trip and eventually our driver found us.
The happiness was short lived, as the driver stopped after a couple of hundred metres and told us that he is not paid by the bus company but is doing this just to get to be our tuk tuk driver on the following day. I didn't like his attitude and said that sorry can't help if he has a bad deal with the company, I have paid a lots of money for the ticket and this is included in it. I also declined his offer for the next day saying that I couldn't possibly know yet what I wanted to do - I might be cycling or take a moto driver. He was angry, and it didn't help that I had already booked the guest house so he couldn't get the commission by taking me to one he had a deal with. Very happy to get rid of that snake, I left the poor Chinese girl with him to find a place with
Racing with an elephant
This is Chanta, my driver in Siem Reapan air con.
Following morning, when I had seen the sunrise at Angor Wat, and returned back to my tuk tuk organised by the guesthouse, the previous day's tuk tuk driver spotted me and came storming at me. "You said you would be cycling and here you are with another driver", he shouted. "I wanted to be your driver." It didn't ease his anger when I defensed myself by saying that I was planning to cycle and as far as I know I have a right to change my mind if I learn that seeing a sunrise is a key thing to do and it requires a five am wake up call. "Anyway, did my friend find a place ok?" I asked. "Yes", said the tuk tuk driver, "she's fine, unlike you - you're slimy!"
The temples of Angor Wat were built between the eighth and 13th centuries and range from single towers made of bricks to vast stone temple complexes. They were lost for centuries, living only as a legend in the stories of the Cambodian peasants. The French colonialists became curious about this and a man called Henri Mahout discovered them in 1860.
The place
is not only amazingly impressive, but also hard work. I bought a three day ticket, and did my best to see all the main temples. You need to be up very early and still find yourself wandering around the ruins in the afternoon heat. The sunset is another must do, as the temples really do look at their best in evening light. On the first day I saw in addition to the main thing, Angkor Wat, the temple of Bayon which is the one with people's head craved in the stone, the Babhuon and other temples surrounding it. For the sunset the tuk tuk driver, Chanta, took me to Banteay Kdei and Prasat Leak Neang. On the second day I was finally cycling and started with Ta Prohm, the temple used in the Lara Croft film. That's the one where the trees are growing on the ruins. Unfortunately it was so crowded that I needed to leave and come back again at lunch time when it was quieter - although not so mystical in the afternoon light. I also did part of the grand circle: Pre Rup, East Mebon and Neak Pean. On the last day Chanta changed his tuk
A girl selling bamboo bangles
Some of the kids were really smart and funny tuk to motorbike and took me to the more distant places: Beng Mealea, Banteay Srei (you can find the finest, most detailed gravings from there) and the Roluos group (Lolei, Bakong and Prah Ko). I loved Bakong as there was a bit of the feeling left how the temples might have looked like when they were first found from the jungle by Henri Mahout.
The most tiresome thing, however, isn't the vastness of the area or the midday heat, but the constant hassling. There are hundreds of people who want your money and they just don't leave you alone. The most central places are the worst: there are dozens of children who want to sell you postcards and bamboo bangles, adults offering drinks, landmine victims begging and students wanting to guide you. The children are the worst. It's so hard to say no, particularly when you know that they really are poor and also very cute and know how to sell. But you can't possibly buy stuff from them all and as soon as you do there is another ten around you. And some of them can be really rude and aggressive. One of them, a boy of around
Cambodian barbecue
Everybody had an own little grill on their table and you could barbecue anything from seafood to pork, beef and liver on it. ten, started to shout that I was a bully when I didn't buy his postcards. Nice, I was called with names for a second time in two days - after just using about a weekly budget in a couple of days by spreading my money all over the temple area buying stuff I didn’t want or giving it to disabled people.
Chanta didn't think I was slimy and I became quite friendly with him during the two days he was driving me around. He offered to take me for the traditional Khmer dinner. Andy, my travel companion from Laos, whom I had met again in Siem Reap, had left the town by then, and it would have been my first night without any company for a long time... So I accepted. Big mistake! I thought it would be a nice opportunity to get to know the Cambodian kitchen, Chanta considered it as a date. He came to pick me up and gave me a rose - and insisted on paying. I felt so bad about that knowing that his daily income is about 10 dollars - I SPEND three to four times more in an average day of this
trip. So I didn't know what to say when he announced after the dinner, once I had told him that my next destination would be Battambang, that he has plans to take a few days off and join me.
I really didn't handle it very well when he actually appeared in the boat harbour on the following morning. It's a free country and couldn't stop him going - so I made a mature decision to show my mind by not talking for the next five hours. Luckily it was loud so there wasn't that much discussion on the boat anyway. As it is the dry season and water is low the trip was supposed to last eight hours instead of three it takes during the rainy season. After five hours the boat stopped, however, and we were all moved to a truck that would transport us the rest of the way to Battambang. There were LOADS of us and we were all looking around to see where is the other truck. There wasn't any and all of us - 26 altogether with lots of luggage - somehow miraculously managed to get in the back of the pick up. (Well,
some people were sitting on the roof.) The two hour trip to follow was totally in its in own category in my series of uncomfortable travelling. I was basically hanging outside the truck as there wasn't enough space for my bum on the edges. The road was unbelievably bumpy and every time when the car leant on my side I was sure that I'll fall down on my neck.
Needless to say, it was all fine in the end, and nobody was hurt. Just a poor little Cambodian boy puked his lunch rice on the nearest co-travellers. Chanta wasn't doing well either, (this trip wasn't really going to be a success for him), but managed to throw up mainly during the breaks.
So we arrived in Battambang, checked in a hotel, and Chanta went to have some rest in his room. I disappeared to explore the city - and what would be the quickest way out of it. There would have been magnificent countryside surrounding the place but I couldn't face another day with Chanta and there was no way he would have left me to see it alone so I booked the bus for the following morning.
Floating village
In spite of the long journey it was definitely worth while to taking the boat - the scenery was fantastic. As I'm not totally evil person I did go and knocked his door to ask if he wanted to have dinner (and more importantly to get back my camera which he had saved in his pocket at some stage during the pick-up trip). As he wasn't there or didn't hear me, I quickly disappeared again, and came back after three hours spending a good while in an internet cafe. Then he was behind my door asking where I had been and if he could come in and have a talk.
So we did talk. After he had shown me endless photos of him and his family, and given me a hideous studio shoot of himself a present, he said that he is so happy that he has met me and hoped we could become really good friends. Alarmed I asked what he meant by that and out came the agenda of his trip. He apparently was in love with me and hoped we could marry one day! Oh dear, after that I didn't have any problems to say all the things I should have said much earlier and kick him out of my room. Even this didn't stop
him: he continued sending silly text messages half a night - he couldn't quite understand my strict reaction as we were about the same age and even looked alike!
We had earlier agreed to meet at eight for breakfast so I guess we were both surprised to bump into each other at seven in the corridor. He was, bloody hell, sneaking behind my door - and I was trying to get out from the city without another discussion with him. I don't think he ever understood why I was upset about him harassing me and leaving so abruptly. I must say that I felt back that he travelled all that uncomfortable way to be with me, and paid for it and the hotel from his little money, and the trip couldn't have gone worse for him. But as much as I had dreaded of being alone a few days earlier, boy I was releaved to be by myself again!
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Jaana
non-member comment
No huh!
Tuota heppua ei voi yrittämisen puutteesta syyttää... :) Toi kuulosti samalla vähän pelottavaltakin. Ei enää onnistu perinteiset kääretorttuohje-välttelyt... Täytyy olla näemmä melkoisen suora! Paikka vaikutti jälleen kerran hienolta temppeleineen! Kuin jostain elokuvasta suoraan. Mukavia kokemuksia edelleen ilman liian innokkaita kosijoita!