Siem Reap

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Hi everyone,

Well here is the last of the SEA blogs, better late than never!!!. Siem Reap reminded me a bit of Chang Mai in Thailand when I first got there. It is supposed to be Cambodia's fastest growing city and serves as the gateway town to the world famous heritage the Angor temples. The town itself is really nice, small and easy to get around with the usual HRB's. I stayed at the Mandalay Inn which spookily was also the name of the guesthouse in Chang Mai!! For USD 17.00 a night it was pretty comfortable with fridge and cable TV and the staff as always in Cambodia were all smiles. I got there on a Sunday I think after another uncomfortable bus journey but at least the scenary was nice!. When the bus turns up you get hounded by millions (well about 40) of touts on tuck tucks and motos wanting to take you to the guesthouse where they make commission so take your best pick and pray!! Luckily I'd booked the Mandalay Inn on-line in advance ( its all about planning!!)

After checking in I booked a moto with the hotel for the next day so I could get stuck into the temples and headed into town. Siam Reap is laid out pretty well, you have the day market which is amazing lots of fresh fish stalls, veg, fruit and meat. Some of the fish and meat looked evil so if you are a veggie best give it a wide berth!!!. Bar street is fab with the infamous Angkor Wot? bar, Goody Sarus Bar and loads of others I can't remember. The best place was the nightmarket which is really civilised compared to the Chang Mai one. They have a cinema there where you can learn about Cambodian history and pleny of souvineer shops and T-shirt shops. The T-shirts were great I ended up buying about 10 of them!!.

The next day it was time to hit the temples. The pictures speak for themselves I think. It was an amazing site both in its size and complexity. In my opinion the whole complex beats hands down anything I've seen before including the Aztec pyramids in Mexico. Go and see them !!!!! Even more amazing was the journey back to the guesthouse. At the last temple the heavens decided to open up and the worst storm ever erupted!!. My moto driver brought me a poncho from a nearby stall and we drove in the rain and hail which was coming in at a 45 degree angle. It was incredible as when we got to the town sometimes the water was coming up to my knees!!!! Luckily the driver was good at his job and he got me back safely to the guesthouse!! When it rains over there it pours!

The 'Stay another day' group is a charitable organisation which aims to help the local population through promoting sustainable tourism in Cambodia, Vietnam and Laos. In Siam Reap it promotes various initiatives such as hospitals, schools, museusm and restaurants that you can visit and they are worth a look. I went to the Singing tree cafe which was great and the Landmine museum. Opened in 1999 to raise awareness of landmines in Cambodia to both tourists and locals alike, the Landmine Museum provides training, education, livelihood support and for child landmine survivors, a home and school. Travellers can learn more about landmines and UXO as well as historical information on the country's tumultuous past. It was a small place but very informative and it was worth the long moto journey to get there.

I also attended cooking school and made fresh spring rolls and chicken curry so bring it on when I get back dinner party at mine!!! As with everywhere I'd been in Cambodia I ended up spending more time than I planned (7 days) and when it was finaly time to say a sad farewell to Cambodia I booked a flight with Bangkok Airways from Siam Reap airport to Bangkok ( its very expensive as its the only airline that does that route but its better than the reported 12 hour bus journey from hell). During the taxi journey the driver pointed out that government officials were visiting the town and there were loads of police and army looking types long the road just standing there.

At the moment I'm in a place called Mission beach two hours south of Cairns ( some of you would have been here). Queensland is also a special place with lots of rainforests and fab beaches. So far I have done lots of activites including visiting Fitzroy Island, crocodile farm, cycling the Tablelands, snorkling the great barrier reaf, jungle surfing and walking through the rainforest at night to spot some creepy crawlies! I was going to do just one blog for the whole of Oz which will cover Sydney, Melbourne and Queensland hopefully before I head to New Zealand on 19th May.

So take care everyone and keep sending your emails and messages so I can stay amused during those droll normal travelling moments ( like now where I'm sitting in a wierd YH in mission beach waiting to cook my Beef Hotpot soup for dinner and watch Rugby league on TV!!.

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Photos

Angkor Thom
By the eastern gate- just hopped off the moto

Tree temple
Sorry can't remember the name-it was the best one though!!

Comments

[Jake]

bling from Jake
Hi Rob the weather is still great now it has reached 27c . I went swimming with dad and still have water in my ears. Keep up the good typing skills and will hopefully be reading about Aussie soon. Take care and Luke sends his love. Blinnage from Jake!!!

[Rob2008]

bling from Jake
Hi Jake, Great to hear from you and that the weather is getting better. I also heard from the Queen of Gossip that you got loads of A's and B'S at school!!!! Well done, keep up the good work. Rob P.S working on the Aussie blog now so should be up and running soon.