Blogs from Siem Reap, North, Cambodia, Asia - page 198

Up at the butt-crack of dawn again and off to Suvarnabhumi (pronounced “Soo-wanna-poom” ) Airport in Bangkok to catch our flight to Siem Reap (pronounced “See-em Ree-ipp”), home of Angkor Wat…or to those of you from our hometown…where they shot Tomb Raider (gag—I can’t believe I just wrote that.) Must say that Suvarnabhumi is quite a site…it just opened less than two months ago and it’s the largest airport in Asia now. It’s quite a marvel of architectural wonder…never really noticed when we flew in. Two atavan and a few 2 inch-deep nail marks on David’s arm later, we made it to Siem Reap Airport—which is basically a strip of asphalt and a customs stand. What an amazing landing…flying over rice paddies and looking down on a landscape that’s so alien, we found ourselves continually mouthing ... read more

Sorry about lack of photos of Angkor Wat and Bayon but we had a problem with the shop that transfered them from memory card to cd and they are lost (could have been worse), we have a friend catching up soon and im sure his will be good so we will steal his and show you later After a 5 hour bus journey we arrived in Siem Reap, yet another bus journey of Karaoke & a dodgy Cambodian action movie, even though we couldn't understand a word we watched it anyway & made our own interpretation of what was going on. Arrived in Siem Reap at around 3.30pm, found ourselves a tuk tuk driver which was to be our personal driver for our Angkor Wat experience. He looked a little like Tiger Woods when he smiled ... read more

Set off from Bangkok for Siem Reap at half seven, another all nighter there, just about caught the bus, the people we organised it with said we would be met at half seven but we weren't its only cause I asked that we got it. Me and Alice got to the border crossing with no real problems, Visa was sorted with no problems but then there was the road from Poipet to Siem Reap. Now I've heard about this famous 'road' but I didn't expect it to be as bad, I've sat on long bus journeys, I've sat on Mekong Speedboats, surely this road was gonna be easier than that?! I can can only describe the road as a dusty track which has been carpet bombed, theres 2 foot deep craters all over the road and ... read more

OK, so for those of you who know us well, you will be amazed to learn that Chris has finally found a curry after a staggering 12 days without. AND Jackie had her first alcoholic drink of the holiday. The curry was not quite the same and we were sat out on the street on wicker chairs, the wine was Cambodian red but very good - even by Jax's tough standards. Half a glass and she was wobbling all over the town! Anyway, Cambodia has far exceeded all our expectations. Particularly our hotel; we had pre-booked into one of the best hotels but were not really sure what to expect. Turns out our hotel and service is far better than any hotel we've stayed in, in England, and easily on a par with the 5 star ... read more

I have never felt as captivated by one country as I did in Cambodia. The past few days have truly changed my life - one of the most inspiring experiences ever. The following words and pictures do not nearly do it justice… From Bangkok, the bus journey is absolutely heinous! The lonely planet rightfully describes the trip as unreliable and averaging between 8 to 15 hours. Well, as I’ve learned the hard way, it’s always best and safest to go with the longer time estimates. Under a clear and hot and muggy sky, our bus left Bangkok around 8: 30 am (1 hour and a half behind schedule). The initial trip to the border was actually fine: nice, comfortable seats, plenty of snacks, water, music and reading material to keep me occupied…all good. Once we got ... read more