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Published: August 9th 2007
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No sooner had we arrived in Cambodia than we were jumping on a bus to leave!
The majority of westerners come here because of Angkor Wat and that is reason enough for a visit to Cambodia. Bar one or two South American Countries there is no other temple complex quite like it. But in the short time we were in the country we came to realize quite quickly that by visiting Siem Reap you are by no means seeing the real Cambodia.
Siem Reap is the town where everyone stays that comes to see Angkor Wat. It was a real surprise to see how westernised it was compared to the places we had visited in Laos and I’m sure compared to other parts of Cambodia too.
The town is filled with fresh faced westerners pulling out their guidebook every 30 seconds to see if it tells them how to cross the road?? At the end of the day this place is cheap and its home to one of the Seven Wonders of the World, so of course it’s going to attract people. But it’s the type of people I’m referring to here whose soul purpose is to compete
on how little they can spend whilst still getting completely trashed every night which is may be spoiling it. And don’t get me wrong I’m not saying that Siem Reap isn’t a nice place as from what we’ve seen, it is. But it’s got a Molly Malone’s Pub for heaven’s sake!! As you can tell our opinion of the place is a bit of a mixed one and one that no doubt would have been different had we started out on our travels here in Asia. We’ve talked about this and both feel guilty for thinking this way, but it’s these westernisms that have stopped us exploring this country further. The thought of never ending bus journeys to get us around and the trials of finding somewhere comfortable to sleep in each town we visit were all too much of a deterrent for us to spend anymore time here. We’ve had our fill getting through Laos we’re off to get some sun, sand and sea.
For those that are tutting at our jellyesque back bone for missing an opportunity to explore this country further, then please feel free to let us know what we’ve missed. Except before you
do, let me just say that we didn’t go to see the Killing Fields for two very good reasons. Some of you will know the tragic history of this small country, if you don’t then read up on it as it’s an amazing story for all the wrong reasons. It really wasn’t that long ago and you must forgive us for not relishing the prospect of visiting the places where a lot of it happened. Furthermore, while we were in Siem Reap we listened to a news report about a Dengue Fever outbreak in Phnom Penh. Only it was no longer an outbreak it was an epidemic as over 182 had died and the numbers of affected were rising. These factors were enough to send us packing for Thailand’s beaches.
Moving away from the more unsavory history of Cambodia and onto a more positive note, Angkor Wat is just immense; absolutely fascinating, in parts sinister and eerie, in others beautiful and serene, and in a couple all of the above. It is certainly the most impressive man made creation I’ve witnessed on our travels and well worth the time and energy it takes to explore. It really is a
historical treat, of which Cambodian’s are rightly proud.
In total we took 350 photos THREE HUNDRED AND FIFTY! That’s enough to get sponsored by Nikon!! Well maybe not, but surely enough to warrant a certificate! I won’t bore you with a detailed description of our day as we have the photos to do that! Just to say that if you were intending to visit yourself one day then it is advisable to book transportation before you depart for the temples. We paid $22 for a taxi between four of us for the whole day. The less organised have been know to part with double that for the journey back into town alone.
During our stay we met Simon and Heidi. After sharing a cab from the airport we ended up staying at the same hotel and organizing our trip out to see the temples together. They were both great company, really easy to get along with and we hope to see them again at home in England.
SO what’s next? Well it’s off back into Thailand where we plan to spend a few days in Bangkok doing some touristy things, like buying some rip off designer clothes
and computer software!! Then depending on the weather! We’ll go to Krabi for a few days and explore some of the Islands off the west coast. Then we plan to travel overland into Malaysia where we want to spend a couple of days on Penang Island before going on up to the Cameron Highlands to experience the sights of the many tea plantations up there. After a few days of sipping tea we’re off to the East coast of Malaysia for a few days on the Perhentian Islands and that’ll take us to our final journey south through the Malaysian rainforest on the Jungle Railway all the way to Singapore, a whole 16 and a half hours on the train : S
Only one small problem, we underestimated the journey from Siem Reap to the Thai boarder. It was a real tear jerker not for the poverty that we saw along the way but for the back breaking, bone jarring bus journey. Six hours of it. I don’t know if the huge pot holes in the road were a result of American bombing in the Vietnam War or the explosions from landmines which are well known in this country.
Inside Angkor Wat
In certain places the walls are covered in ancient scriptures But for sure it looked and certainly felt like they were!!
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ste
non-member comment
hey, we visited cambodia,vietnam and laos a few months ago and took all these long bus journeys which i feel are part of the experience and is well worth it to see these great countries, cambodia was our favourite and relatively short bus journeys so you probably missed a trick there! siem reap is there because of angkor, but getting out further is rewarding.