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Published: September 1st 2008
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Sunday 3rd August
Our Cambodian trip started in Phnom Penh where we spent a couple of days. I haven't included a blog for this period of time as I really didn't do much. Having been here last year I already did all the tourist things like the Killing Fields, S21 prison camp etc. This was Chris' first time to Phnom Penh so he did all that stuff while I just wandered around the markets and took it easy.
We booked the 8am Mekong Express bus ($US13) up to Siem Reap, having decided it was the better way to go than the boat. The boat is about 3 times as expensive and takes the same amount of time, plus we were planning to take the boat from Siem Reap to Battambang anyway. The bus company picked us up from our hotel (Paragon Hotel) and drove us to the departure area about 5 minutes away. There are a few bus companies that travel between Phnom Penh and Siem Reap, and I had heard that they stop at a town called Skuon along the way. This town is famous for selling palm-sized tarantulas so I was keen to try one. I couldn't
Kampong Thom Market
Stopover point between Phnom Penh and Siem Reap. remember the name of the town when we were at the travel agent to ask them if we stopped there, but they assured us that we could get spiders along the way. As it turned out we didn't stop in Skuon but instead stopped at a town called Kampong Thom. We weren't able to get spiders but there were various other insects on sale, including crickets and what looked like large cockroaches. We bought a can full amount of insects for 5000 Riel and tasted the various insects it contained. The best by far were the crickets. Fried, soft and slightly salty, would be ideal to have as a beer snack. The other insects including the cockroach were a bit crunchy and chewy.
When we arrived in Siem Reap about 5 hours later, we got taken to the Mekong Express depot which was about 3 km out of town not the main bus terminal which is less than 1km from town on the main road. It's apparent why they do this as it forces you to take one of their tuk-tuks into town. They make you buy a US$2 ticket for the tuk tuk beforehand which I suspect goes
Bugs at Kampong Thom
You can buy them by the scoop, which was a tin can in this case. to the bus company not the tuk tuk driver. The tuk tuk driver gets his money from taking you to a hotel with which he has some sort of commission thing going on with them. Our driver stopped a number of times in front of hotels trying to get us to stay there, despite us telling him that we just wanted to go to the old market area. When we realised we were near the old market area we got out and started walking and told him to go away. He kept following us and kept saying he wanted to be our driver the next day and take us to Angkor Wat. We went into one of the hotels (Reaksmey Chanreas Hotel) to check out the rooms and he followed us inside. We checked in and came back downstairs and he was still there and continued to follow us. He then made up some ridiculous lie that I had told him to meet us the following day at 8am to take us to Angkor Wat. The guy was seriously becoming a pain in the ass. Eventually he drove off saying that he would see us at 8am. I wonder if
Cockroaches
We tried a couple of these. Not my favourite, a bit too chewy and crunchy. The crickets were the best. he did come back the next day at 8am. In any case we were long gone as we ended up booking a tuk tuk driver and a guide to meet us at 4.30am the next day. This cost us US$152 which also included a car, a driver, and a guide to take us to Koh Ker the next day which is about a 2 hour drive from Siem Reap.
We paid US$15/night for a room at the Reaksmey Chanreas Hotel which is close to the old market area. Rooms are basic but clean, air-con, TV, hot water etc. There were a few mossies about though but nothing to be concerned about.
We went for a walk and found the aptly named pub street. We had no option but to go into a pub and have a beer. Beers were perhaps a fraction more expensive than Phnom Penh, around US$1.50 for a can of Angkor, but nothing significant. Most bars have happy hour, 2 for 1, that sort of thing as well.
Monday 4th August - 4.30am
We arranged to meet our driver and guide at 4.30am at our hotel with the view of watching the sunrise behind
Beer and bugs
1st beer in Siem Reap Angkor Wat. However at 4.30am there was no sign of our bloody guide. Tuk-tuk guy showed up on time though. He managed to phone the guide who announced he was of the impression that he was to meet us at 5am and that the travel agent should have told us 5am. He's probably right as if we left on time we would have just been sitting in the dark for another 30 minutes waiting for the sun to rise over Angkor Wat. Still it would have been nice to have been in bed an extra half hour rather than waiting for some guide to show up. Anyway the temples are just a few kilometres from Siem Reap. You need to buy a ticket at the entry to the park, $20 for a day and $40 for 3 days. Weekly tickets are also available. They take your photo and make you a visitor pass which you need to show at every single temple. I guess they are making very sure that they get their money, plus ensures anyone who unfortunately loses their ticket needs to buy another one. Incidently from what we heard from the locals, very little of this money
Mango and Chilli
The owner of this restaurant kindly offered some of her mango she was eating...probably payback for the insects we gave her. They dip the mango in chilli of all things. collected for the entrance fee to the park goes back into the preservation of the temples or to benefit the local people. Most the restoration work is funded by overseas governments and organisations. To use the phrase of our guide, the money just disappears into thin air. The Khmer Rouge may be gone now but the rampant corruption, in the form of the Cambodian People's Party, hasn't.
When the sun did rise, I wish I could say it was an amazing experience and I was in awe. Truth be told, it wasn't a good day for a sunrise as it was extremely cloudy. So the awe inspiring sunrise did not materialise for us. Even if it did, the atmosphere is compromised somewhat with the multitude of tourists sitting around waiting for the same thing you are. I don't begrudge the other tourists for coming to see the temples, I just wish they all came on a different day to me. In truth only the main temples are overly crowded. I guess the big tour operators only take people to see the main temples then get the hell out of there. Another way to avoid the crowds I think, is
Temple Bar - Siem Reap
Had a few beers here. The pool tables were about the worse I've seen, with tape used to patch the multiple holes in the table. to see the bigger temples during breakfast and lunch times. The big tour buses will usually take people to see the sunrise over Angkor Wat then go back to their hotels for breakfast. They will come back for more temple sightseeing and then also go back into town for lunch. It also seems to me that the main people benefitting from the temples of Angkor are the 5 star hotels and the select few. We stopped at one of the roadside stalls for breakfast and despite the number of people we saw at Angkor Wat in the morning, there were no other tourists eating here. It would be nice if the big tour operators threw some business to the local stalls.
We saw quite a few of the temples during the day, and for me, one day was enough. Mind you we did start before sunrise and left just after 3pm. So if you are not inclined to have such a big day, or are one of those people who like to examine every brick of every temple, then you may want to go for a few days. In truth I was only interested in seeing one temple which
Mine victims music - Angkor Night Market
Mine victims playing traditional music and selling CD's for US$10. was Ta Prohm and it didn't disappoint. The way the gigantic trees are entwined within the temples is truly spectacular. Other temples which I thought were impressive are Angkor Wat (for the sheer magnitude of the temple), and Bayon within Angkom Thom (for the interesting architecture).
When we returned to Siem Reap we went out for a few quiet beers. It was another early start though the next morning, as we were heading off to Koh Ker at 6am.
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