Pedal Power -- Angkor by bike

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The overnight bus to Bangkok wasn't too bad aside from the rather large Buddhist monk I sat next to. He insisted on taking up at least a quarter of my seat with his arm and so he slept, and I didn't. Once I got to Bangkok I had to find my way into the massive bus station and book a local bus to the border. It took some doing, but less than an hour after arriving I was on my way to Cambodia. The bus journey went smoothly, although we stopped near the border and some military police came on board and removed half the passengers (I was not in the half that got taken off). Once we got to the border town, I joined up with two south korean girls, that were the only other foreigners on the bus, and we split a tuk-tuk to the actual border.

Leaving Thailand was a piece of cake, but getting the visa for Cambodia was pretty frustrating. I was forced to bribe the officials or risk having my passport put at the bottom of a stack of about 30 other passports that they seemed to be in no hurry to get through. I ended up paying 100 baht ($3) for the "expedited service" as he kept calling it. Once I had the visa, which took five minutes after the bribe, I had to wait in a massive line to get the actual entry stamp, but at least they didn't demand a bribe. So, about an hour after leaving Thailand we were officially in Cambodia.

There are two ways of getting to Siem Reap from the border: bus and taxi. Before I go any further, let me give you some background on the road that they take. It is notorious as one of the worst highways in Asia, which is saying quite a lot. Basically, it's a narrow, dusty, and poorly maintained dirt road that they have the audacity to call a highway. The ride to Siem Reap can be done in 3 hours (at best) in a cab, and a lot more than that on the bus. So, given the two choices we decided to split a cab for about $10 each. We made the journey in a late 90's toyota camry (every car in Cambodia is a camry it seems) that had some impressive suspension upgrades. The driver averaged about 70 kph, and we hit 90 (55mph) a couple of times. Never once did the car bottom out, even though we roared over some giant potholes that would have caused trouble for most pickup trucks. To add to the fun, we were in a Thai car which placed me in the left-hand seat with a great view of the oncoming traffic that the driver didn't share. More than once I had to tell the driver that now was not a good time to move over. He would just laugh and go for it anyway. Somehow the two Korean girls managed to sleep in the back seat.

We arrived safely, and the driver let us out at a gas station near the main backpacker area. The two Koreans and I split up and I found a guest house nearby for about $5 a night. I decided to spend the afternoon wandering around town a bit and so that's where I headed next. Siem Reap is an interesting introduction to Cambodia. It's a dusty (what isn't in this country) provincial town, but it felt safe and had a nice atmosphere to it. It was a bit annoying having to constantly watch where I put my feet, though. The sidewalks (where they existed) were full of holes, construction debris, and often garbage in addition to having a layer of dust everywhere. In my exploration of the town I found the local market and walked around that a bit. As I was heading back to the guest house I was stopped by some local children who wanted to sell me books. I looked politely, but I really wasn't interested in what they had so I told them no and started moving on. Two of them, especially, were extremely persistent. The two girls were probably about 6 and 8 years old respectively and they just would not let up. The younger girl didn't say much, she just followed along about 2 paces behind her friend. The older one became increasingly belligerent the further I walked away from the market. I kept politely telling her that I didn't want anything, but she just would not take no for an answer. Finally, after 2 blocks of them following me, she said "You ugly, mean, tourist" and then stormed off. I was a bit shocked by her reaction. Clearly she's used to getting her way by being so annoying that people buy something just to get her to go away. It's sad really, because that tactic is going to work less and less as she gets older and then she'll be left with nothing. I find that when I do buy small things from these children I do it from the ones who don't act like that. I don't want to reinforce a behavior that will get them nowhere in life.

After escaping from the kids I went to get cash. An interesting quirk about Cambodia is that the ATMs give dollars instead of the local currency. It certainly made tracking expenses easier, but it also meant I had to immediately go into the bank to get small change because a $50 bill is almost worthless since no one can make change for it.

I spent the rest of the evening hanging out at the guest house restaurant. I had just finished a delicious dinner when I saw an enormous rat stalk along the wall towards the kitchen. It wasn't making any real attempt to hide, so clearly it has been plundering the kitchen for quite some time. Surprisingly, it didn't faze me. I guess I figured that most of the kitchens had rats, bugs, etc. and so there really isn't anything I can do about it. I am glad I saw it after I was done eating, though. It would have certainly spoiled my appetite.

I spent the next day wandering around and doing errands. I also decided to try to walk out to Angkor to get my ticket and see the sunset. I made it to the ticket booth after about 30 minutes of walking, but I was less than halfway there so I just got the ticket and turned around. As it turns out I would have made it for sunset, but I would have had to walk back in the dark. The ticket cost me $40 for three days in the park. That's a ton of money, especially in Asia, but everyone I've talked to has said it's worth the cost.

The next morning I got up around 9 and rented a bike for one dollar! It was a funny looking chinese bike, but it got the job done. The road out to Angkor was pleasant and after 20 minutes of cycling I found myself staring at Angkor Wat. I decided not to stop, however, and continued on to the temple of Bayon.

Bayon is famous for the stone faces that greet you at every turn inside the ruins. They are a bit mesmerizing and you can stare at them forever without getting bored. I was a little disappointed to see the hordes of package tourists running around, though so I decided to move on.

For the next several hours I cycled from temple to temple on a big circuit around the park. As I got further and further away from Angkor I left the crowds behind and found solitude in some of the more remote temples. I spent nearly an hour relaxing and staring off towards the hazy horizon in the shade of a brick column at one of the lesser known temples. Around sunset I found myself back at Bayon and it had almost completely cleared out. Most people head over to Angkor Wat itself to see the sunset, but I found Bayon to be an amazing place as the late afternoon light bathed the faces in a soft glow. It was hard to leave, but I needed to get back before it got too dark so I left and quickly found myself in a traffic jam that lasted until the edge of the park. Even though I was tired from riding on a three-speed bike all day, the last six kilometers back to town were a pleasant conclusion to the day. I tracked down a great pizza for dinner and called it a night.

The next day I woke up sore and tired, but I went straight back to the bike rental place after getting some breakfast. I thought about getting a moto tour of the park, but the bike was such a nice way to see it that there really wasn't any choice but to do it again! I even got my same trusty chinese bike and I was on my way by 10. My first stop was Angkor Wat since I had skipped that the previous day. It is amazing on the inside, but once again the tourist horde sours the experience a bit. It was also a scorcher of a day. By noon the temperature was probably 95F (35C) and the sun was blazing overhead. The water and fruit sellers got quite a bit of my business! It's a crime how cheap pineapple is in SE asia. I can't get enough of it. I spent the afternoon retracing the previous day's route, although I only stopped at the temples that I had really liked the day before. Once again I found myself relaxing in the shade at a couple of remote temples that were almost empty. Around 4 I cycled over to Angkor Wat again and found a great spot on a ledge high up inside the temple to sit and wait for sunset. Once again the stone inside the temple underwent a magical transformation as the sun dropped towards the horizon. It made me feel like it was pointless to even bother seeing the temples from about 10-3, but it's impossible to see all of them otherwise.

I rode back as the sun was dropping below the horizon and had a well-deserved dinner. I also found a place that made a fantastic milkshake. It was the best I'd had in a long time. While I was using the internet I ran into Sarah (Chiang Mai) and her friend. The three of us spent the evening hanging out in the guest house bar until they threw us out around 12.

The next morning I tried to get up early enough to see the sunrise, but it was too dark and I was too sore and tired, so I just went back to sleep. In fact, I slept until 1 or so and I just couldn't be bothered to head back to the temples so I just lazed around for the whole day. I sent some postcards from the post office as well, but I have no idea if those made it or not. In the evening I met up with Sarah and her friend again and we went to the pizza place once again. For the most part, the food in SE asia has been fantastic, but I find more and more that I want a taste of home so I end up in pizza or burger places to satisfy that craving. We all spent a relaxed evening at the guest house bar before calling it a night early.

The next morning the three of us caught a bus to Phnom Penh and so I'll leave off there.

Stay tuned for more.

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Photos

Dusty streets
The dusty streets of Siem Reap

Road from hell
Fun "highway" from the border to Siem Reap. Note that they drive on the right, yet we were in a right-hand drive car, placing me in the path of oncoming traffic. A truly exhilarating experience.

Bayon
Bayon temple from afar

Bayon tourists
The mostly Korean tourist horde inside Bayon