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Published: February 14th 2009
The beginning of the epic journey
Train from Bangkok to Aranya PrathetThis blog takes us from leaving Bangkok, through the centre of Cambodia up to leaving for Vietnam. The photo's probably make more sense after you've read the blog but hey, look at them how you wish. May as well get stuck straight in.....................
Tuesday 20th January Long travel day. Lonely Planet states, "......an epic journey. Start out early, bring a lot of snacks and practise Buddhist calm." We like to do stuff on our own anyway but some well-spun scare stories include The Scam Bus. Direct from Bangkok to Siem Reap this bus takes about 22 hours, drives on bumpy roads, uses a small, ill-equipped, tedious border crossing post and stops outside a guesthouse in Siem Reap (which is expensive and crap) where you, battered and bruised, stay the night because you can't be bothered to look elsewhere by now. THIS is where the coach company makes it's money - from the guest house backhanders. So, we catch a cab from our hostel to the train station. The driver wants 150B, we settle at 80B. We arrive at the train station at 0500 as advised, and bought a ticket for 49B. It's not busy at all! There are plenty of
spare seats. It's a lovely journey through deepest, darkest Thai countryside. We arrive at Aranya Prathet at about midday. At the train station we meet a French guy who wants to share a tuk tuk with us to save money. It cost 80B for 5 minutes - Bloody Thais! We stopped at a rip-off visa agency which we forcefully declined. Another scam-the-tourist-for-as-much-as-you-can farce - Bloody Thais! So we leave the visa service without a visa. Oh my God what are we going to do? They insisted we HAD to buy a visa from them. The tuk tuk driver said the same! Oh well. Literally only 15 seconds later we pulled up at the Kingdom Of Cambodia Consulate General. We believe it should be 20$ for a visa but we are asked for 30$. The whole Cambodian Government is (allegedly) corrupt. This is why we wanted to go to the Embassy in Bangkok. We argued a bit and pretended we knew what we were talking about but to no avail, and we couldn't argue too much because we didn't have the facts. I'm 99% certain we were scammed out of 10$ each - especially as they weren't prepared to give us
a receipt, so I robbed the remote control for their TV which was clumsily left on the table beside me! We get to the actual border and through the stamping of the passports ritual without problem and bump into a Slovenian couple who are keen to share onward transport costs, just like us. We catch the FREE bus to the bus station which turns out to be a private bus company. Do you think we're being scammed? They want 60$ up front for a taxi to Siem reap which is about a three hour journey. We are wise to the scam, so against the taxi company's advice (it's dangerous out there - you wont find another taxi - if you go with a local taxi you wont be insured - you might lose something and you'll never get it back) me, the French guy and the Slovenian gal head off to find another cab. We find one willing to take all five of us for 40$. We go back to the original, private company with this information and they basically bow to our every demand and take us for 40$. We don't want to cram five of us in a
Ta Keo
If you zoom in you can see Aimee at the top of the steps cab so we ditch the French guy (au revoir, garlic muncher). Looks like the Cambodians are just as keen to get a scam as the bloody Thais! The road from Poipet (the Cambodian border town) to Siem Reap has a bad reputation for being extremely bumpy and unkempt. Rumour has it that despite this being the main tourist entry point, airline companies pay the government
not to maintain/tarmac the road so that dumb tourists fly instead of travel overland. My oh my, they DO like a scam! It's not a bad road at all though. We had worse in New Zealand and a hell of a lot worse in Bolivia. We have a halfway stop at a rip-off-tourist-shop where we can buy food/drink at silly prices. The driver collects a free bag of food/drink for bringing us here, we have a pee and ignore the question, "What you want buy?" for 15 minutes before getting back to the taxi and heading off. As we arrive in Siem Reap we see huge 4* and 5* hotel complexes. Bad news for us as the locals will be well used to rich westeners with money. So much so that they can ignore us
Ta Keo
The VERY steep steps up tight, budget-wise travellers and earn Western salaries by looking after the caviar munching hotel dwellers. The taxi pulls in at a tuk tuk stop and we are asked to transfer to a FREE tuk tuk that will take us to a hostel of our choice. Expert scamsters, these tuk tuk drivers do two things: 1) take you to the hostel of your choice for free, then claim commission from the hostel owner for taking you there - who pays the commission? It's added to the cost of the room, so we do. 2) take you to the hostel of your choice which is full. they then charge you silly money to take you to another hostel and then refer to point 1 as well! We therefore ask for a shopping centre we have marked on our map which is near to several hostels which we can look around and get prices for ourselves without having extra added on to pay for a tuk tuk drivers commission. God, we think we're clever! The tuk tuk driver takes us into town then just randomly dumps us nowhere near where we want to be. "Tough luck" he says. He is miffed because we
Bayon
Aimee and the mysterious faces saw right through his scam. He refuses to take us where we want to go. As we're not paying for it anyway we can't withold the money or do anything. He's a little prick and I swear I
really want to knock him out - which is not at all like me. We have no option but to walk from here. We end up with a hostel for 8$ a night which is 32000R (Cambodian Riel) which is 5.67 quid. It's quite posh and has free internet, cable TV and hot water. We eat for 1$ each (some sort of noodle and meat mix - freshly prepared of course) then get some rum for 7$ a litre and watch the TV. Liverpool vs Everton followed by the movie Moulin Rouge. Just to explain Cambodian currency. Their official currency is a Riel but they prefer US dollars. 1$ is 4000R. they don't have US cents so anything that costs a fraction of a dollar has to include riels - e.g. 1.50$ is actually 1$ and 2000R, and if you give them 5$ you will get 3$ and 2000R change. It's quite difficult to get used to!
Wednesday 21st January Very,
very lazy day. Had a lie in, watched TV, popped out for a short while to ask about the boat to Battambang for later in the week. Watched more TV then bed..............
Thursday 22nd January ..............until 0245 (1945GMT) when I got up to try and find football on the telly. Sadly the main sports channels have Inter vs Roma from Italy but I stumble across a Cambodian channel with what I want - the mighty Burnley FC vs Tottenham in the 2nd leg of the Carling Cup semi final. Spurs lead 4 - 1 from the first leg so Burnley must win 3 - 0. Impossible everybody says. But, 90 minutes later and what's the score? 3 - 0 to Burnley. This means extra time so we must hang on for 30 minutes more before we can go to Wembley for the final against Man Utd and add Spurs to our list of Premiership scalps (we have already beaten Fulham, Arsenal and Chelsea in earlier rounds of this cup). 90 seconds to go, 1½ minutes away from Wembley and the buggers scrape a goal! Burnley collapse and then concede again. Final score 3 - 2 to Burnley. Technically we
won the match, but over the two legs, Spurs go through. Gutted, and not a Spurs fan in the country can say with honesty that they deserve it! Still, that's why we love football. Back to bed for a few hours sleep then up at 0930 to go and do temples and stuff. We rented push bikes (why are they called push bikes?) for 1$ each and cycled (not pushed) them the 3km to the entrance. The tickets for The Temples of Angkor cost us 20$ for a day. Angkor is a name conventionally applied to the region of Cambodia serving as the seat of the Khmer empire that flourished from approximately the ninth century to the fifteenth century A.D. The Khmer empire stretched from Myanmar (Burma) to Vietnam and Angkor itself had a population of well over 1,000,000 when London had only 50,000 inhabitants. The temples were built betwenn 800AD and 1200AD and there are hundreds of ruins remaining. We started the day at Ta Prohm which is a 12th Century Mahayana Buddhist Temple (yawn) but we rushed around to see the tentacle like tree roots creep over the stonework. They were used as an on-location set for the
Angkor Wat
Inside the main square movies, "Tomb Raider" and "Two Brothers." We then cycled around to Ta Keo, built for Jayavarman V around 970AD. It's a massive, unfinished pyramid over 50m tall and it has ridiculously steep sides which we climbed up. Bayon was the next stop. Built by Jayavarman VII in 1200AD it is the exact centre of the city. There are 216 faces built into the temple walls and towers, possibly in the king's image so he can look out over his subjects. As we cycled to our next planned stop we spotted some wild monkeys. They must regularly come to this point as there are some cheeky locals selling banana's to feed them. Some Americans bought too many so gave Aimee one so she could feed a mother with it's baby. They were pretty cool - a bit like the Barbary apes in Gibraltar. We saved the best till last. Angkor Wat is one of the most inspired and spectacular monuments conceived by the human mind - so the tourist brochure tells us. It is the largest religious building in the world and was built by Suryavarman II around 1110 - 1150AD. It would have been incredible to see it in it's
The "standard issue" photo
with the reflection in the lake former glory, but nowadays it's in a bit of a state. A guide would probably be advisable but personally, we've had guides in other places (Macchu Picchu - Peru, Alhambra Palace - Spain etc) and never remember what they tell us anyway! So, all templed out we cycle back, shower and clean up. Take away tea from the usual street vendor, beer and TV.
Friday 23rd January Another lazy day. Popped out to buy tickets for the boat tomorrow. They cost 19$ each. Packed and had an early night.
Saturday 24th January Up at 0500 for a 0610 pick-up. Picked up late at 0630 and crammed into a ute. The back is already jammed full so we're put in the front. The journey to the river is amazing! It's like a real-life version of the Yorvik Viking Centre in York, complete with the smells. They have wooden huts, some on stilts with open fires to cook on, small barrels to wash in, animals in home made pens, chickens under wooden crates and allsorts. It was really interesting. The boat is due to leave at 0700. We get there at 0715 and it's waited for us. In fact, we're
practically the first people on board. The boat seats around 25 people so we have no trouble getting good seats. A couple more ute's and minibuses turn up and by 0745 there must be at least 60 people on board - that's more than double the capacity! I'd be a bit annoyed if I was one of the many asked to sit on the roof! It's apparently Cambodia's most scenic stretch of water. Lonely Planet reckons it will take three to eight hours. Well, at least they're not vague about it! We set off down the river which very soon enters a huge lake. It's a bit choppy and several times I think with the extra weight we're going to capsize. So does the captain so he gets people off the roof and makes them stand up downstairs for a bit more stability. After about 45 minutes or so we rejoin the river and people can go back on the roof. We sail past fully floating villages with no land in sight. Some of the buildings are built on stilts but most are just houseboats. The families have wooden rowing boats to get around. They even have floating schools which,
according to the paint job on the sides have been donated by UNICEF. All the kids sream and wave at us as we pass. After about 4½ hours we pull up at a floating restaurant. It's a bit expensive so we just use the toilets - which is basically a bit of wriggly-tin strapped to the side of the building and hovering over the water. There is a bit of floor boarding with a hole in it directly into the river. Fine for us Y chromosome wielding males as we can simply point and squirt. Not so easy for the XX females who need to squat and shake the lettuce! Whilst Aimee was in, a wave came and literally rocked the boat. She panicked thinking it was sinking and bolted up, knocking her sunglasses off and into the hole. She almost put her hand in after them but quickly came to her senses and left them. I didn't laugh! Our boat driver didn't bother with the toilet. He just pointed and squirted off the side then proceeded to squat and wash his hands in his own urine and
then splash his mouth and drink it! He didn't even move, he
Phnom Penh Post Office
Posting a letter to "the old folk" that can't use t'internet just did it exactly where he'd peed! You had to see it to beleive it! The dirty git! We then got back in the boat and passed more floating villages and children. We eventually arrived in Battambang at 1900 and caught a free minibus to our hostel which is only 5$ a night with en-suite and cable TV. Popped out for food and beer and watched TV.
Sunday 25th January Lazy day in front of the TV. Found out that buses to Phnom Penh run every hour and a lady at the bottom of the street sells tickets for 5$ each.
Monday 26th January We head down to see the bus ticket lady at 0930 for the 1000 bus. She is nowhere to be seen. She probably ripped someone off yesterday for the 1000 bus today so she's in hiding. A tuk tuk tells ud he'll take us to the bus station for only 5$. Yeah, right mate. it's only 5$ to Phnom Penh. We knock him down to 2000R which is 50 cents (10 times less than he wanted at first). The bus leaves at 1015 so we have enough time to get a ticket. It should
Tuol Sleng School
S-21 Security Prison take five hours but ends up taking seven. We hostel hunt and find a double with en-suite and cable TV for 5.50$ a night. There is a supermarket nearby so we get some booze in, get noodley take-away and watch some movies.
Tuesday 27th January Lazy day. Watched TV and typed some Thai blog up.
Wednesday 28th January The plan today is to go to the Vietnamese Embassy to get our visa's, do some laundry, post a letter and do a small amount of sightseeing on the way. Got up at 0900 and asked at reception if the address we have for the Vietnamese embassy is correct (after our Cambodian Embassy in Bangkok episode we thought we'd check first). It is in the same place, but it's closed till Friday because of Chinese New Year. Imagine that! An Embassy, closed! So, where's the nearest laundry? That's closed as well, and the barber. What about the market then? Oh, that's been knocked down. It's a building site now. Great! So we just generally wander. We see the Independence Monument built in 1958 which is also used as a memorial to Cambodia's war dead. We took a walk up the
Small, single cell
PLEASE can I lock her in? Tonle Sap riverbank and checked out an Indian restaurant for later in the week. The Post Office was open so we posted a letter to Aimee's Grandma (who doesn't have internet access for blogs). We went past a small market and looked at a few bus ticket offices for the journey to Vietnam. They don't have a bus station here, just private offices so you have to shop around. Relaxed later in the afternoon and had an easy night in front of the telly.
Thursday 29th January Little bit of sightseeing today. We're off to Tuol Sleng Museum. It used to be a school and it's easy to imagine it with the tiled floors and open corridors with classrooms leading off it. In 1975 however, Pol Pot's security forces turned it into Security Prison 21 (S-21) which was the largest torture and detention centre in the country. During the first part of 1977 S-21 claimed an average of 100 victims per day. According to their own official records, in three years they killed 10,519 adults. There are no records for the children but it is estimated that over 20,000 kids were slaughtered! Would you like to know a little
Torture Chamber
Note the picture of the former cell mate on the wall bit more about Pol Pot and the Khmer Rouge? Of course you would. Here it goes:
The Khmer Rouge was the communist ruling political party of Cambodia — which it renamed the Democratic Kampuchea — from 1975 to 1979. Pol Pot, was the leader of the Cambodian communist movement known as the Khmer Rouge and was Prime Minister of Democratic Kampuchea from 1976-1979. Pol Pot became the de facto leader of Cambodia in mid-1975. During his time in power, Pol Pot imposed a version of agrarian collectivization, forcing city dwellers to relocate to the countryside to work in collective farms and forced labour projects, toward a goal of "restarting civilization" in "Year Zero". The combined effects of slave labour, malnutrition, poor medical care, and executions resulted in the deaths of an estimated 750,000 to 1.7 million people, approximately 26%!o(MISSING)f the Cambodian population. Nice guy huh? Anyway, back to the school. Some of the classrooms were used to hold up to 60 prisoners. They laid on their backs on the floor, side by side in a group of ten. This group of ten was laid toe to toe with another group of ten to make twenty. This twenty were then
Choeng Ek Killing Fields
See the bash marks on the skulls! shackled together by the feet and forbidden to move or speak. Other classrooms were split ionto single cells just 800mm x 2000mm with foot shackles bolted to the floor. The shackles are still present today. These cells are side by side down each side of the classroom with a corridor down the middle. For a photo I got inside one of the cells, closed the door and peeked through the cubby hole. Aimee had to get into an adjacent cell and take the photo across the corridor. Whilst we were in the cells an American girl entered the room and, oblivious to our presence, slowly sauntered up the corridor. I think it's safe to say she absolutely crapped herself when I popped my head through the hole with a big stupid grin on it! It was
hilarious! I almost wish we did it on purpose and screamed or something. She failed to see the funny side though she did give us some king of smirk as she left. It was brill! The most gruesome rooms were the torture chambers. They had a plain, metal bed and nothing else. On the wall was a large (black and white) photograph of a
battered, bleeding, and very dead former inmate. We don't know if the photo was put in later for effect, or if they were there all along for the "benefit" of the next victim. There are stains on the floor which suggest blood and bodily fluids. So, the Khmer Rouge weren't very nice people! Interestingly up until 1991 the UN allowed the Khmer Rouge to occupy the Cambodian seat at the General Assembly so basically the murderer's represented their victims for 12 years!
Friday 30th January Down to the embassies today. We have planned all of this part of the journey around the fact that we can get a 60 day visa for Thailand from a Thai Embassy outside of Thailand. We've only heard this from passing travellers so we don't know if it's true. We arrive at the Thai Embassy at 1205 and guess what! They close between 1200 and 1600 for lunch. Thankfully the Vietnamese Embassy is open. It's 35$ each for a 30 day Vietnam Visa. We fill in the paperwork and everything but we have to return at 1630 to collect it, which we do.
Saturday 31st January Chilled and did nothing. Watched Man Utd
vs Everton. 1 - 0 to United.
Sunday 01st February Today we went to the killing fields of Choeng Ek. The place itself was very disappointing but first, here is a bit about the truth behind them: Between mid 1975 and 1978 around 17,000 men, women and children were murdered here. They were "buried" in mass graves. In order to save bullets they were beaten to death. They were ordered to kneel with their hands behind their back and their heads bowed. They were then clubbed at the top of the spine/base of the neck and then tipped into the trench. If the initial impact didn't kill (or appear to kill) them, they were simply beaten until they died. DDT was then poured over the bodies, primarily to cover the stench, but secondly to help kill those that were not quite dead yet! At the height of the killing (300 per day) the executioners couldn't keep up so a temporary holding room was built. Music blared from loudspeakers to hide the sound of screaming/bludgeoning. In 1980 the site was partially excavated and 9000 skulls found. These have been piled haphazardly (good word) inside a Stupa (religious monument) which marks the entrance to the site. You can see the bash marks in the skulls where they have been clubbed. Other than that it's just a big field with trenches in it. There are a few scattered clothes but it's unclear if they are original or if they have been planted for the benefit of dumb tourists. There are signs dotted around telling of what used to be there, but there is no evidence or ruins to see. The most gruesome part was a glass table with bones, teeth and fingernails laid out on it! Tasty!! It was only 2$ each to get in which is not bad but considering it cost us 7$ (which we bartered down from 20$) in a tuk tuk I'd say it wasn't worth the 11$ total. It doesn't sound much but we're only paying 5.50$ a night for a hostel and 1.50$ for a meal out. Went to get bus tickets for Vietnam tomorrow, but they've sold out. We'll have to go on Tuesday instead. Went for an "all you can eat" Indian and it was amazing. It was so good, and we ate so much that we had to rush back to the toilet!
Being a gentleman I let Aimee go first, but it was touch and go! Watched Liverpool vs Chelsea. 2 - 0 to the reds. Fernando Torres x2.
Monday 02nd February Had a lie in and a lazy day. Bought lunch stuff for tomorrow to try and get rid of our remaining Riels.
Which brings us tidily up to the end of Cambodia. All in all a nice place. We fairly quickly travelled through and didn't see much countryside. We've heard Cambodia is a beautiful place which in parts it is. It's very dry, dusty and dirty - the locals have no idea about recycling or even rubbish management of any kind. Plastic bags are everywhere and you can see why. You only have to look at a shop and they give you a carrier bag. We've enjoyed it and we've seen what we wanted to see and learned a great deal about it's history. The people are mainly nice, though they have a few Thai attributes and are cottoning on to the fact that they can rip people off left, right and centre. It appears that package tourism is arriving and soon it will be out of reach for the budget conscious backpacker. Still, lets wait and see! Glad we did it when we did. Onward to Vietnam..............
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