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Published: March 9th 2008
Temple detail, Angkor
My, what big ear lobes you have!After a very easy and short bus trip from Laos across the Thai-Laos Friendship Bridge, we arrived in a place called Udon Thani, Thailand. It was smooth sailing getting through the borders, other than the odd line jumper that seemed to be a fairly common thing in Southeast Asia. We got over it pretty quickly though, since we were one step closer to seeing one of the wonders of the world, the magnificent temples of Angkor Wat!
We were on the move, and in a bit of a rush since it was Jan. 14th, and our flight out of Bangkok was leaving Jan. 21st. To get to Cambodia, all we had to do was spend a night in Khorat, Thailand, then hop on an early bus to the border of Cambodia. In Udon Thani, we were rushed onto a waiting bus to Khorat and escorted by the bus driver's assistant all the way to the back of the bus, where there were five seats in a row across the back. Two very, very old monks dressed in their orange robes were already sitting there, and we were seated, with Andy next to the monks and then Christine, as women are
Khorat, Thailand
Dining in style, 'Chez Andy' not allowed to sit next to or touch Buddhist monks.
The monks were curious when they first saw us. One of the two men grasped Andy's hand and turned it over to examine his palm. He and his companion were totally fascinated, and couldn't stop giggling. We weren't sure if they were reading it or laughing because of the smoothness, or the size of his hands. It was so hilarious, but we never did find out, due to the language barrier. Sadly, neither of us spoke the others language.
Andy offered the monks some of our snacks, and they shook their heads, refusing. Then one reached into his sack and pulled out two drink boxes of soya milk and gave them to us, and though we tried, we could not refuse. We thanked them in Thai (one of the few phrases we did know) and were happy, but at the same time felt bad for drinking their only drinks. We spent the rest of our trip showing them photos of various sights in our guide book, and they indicated that they had been to many of the Wats that we showed them. Finally we arrived in Khorat and
Ta Prohm, Angkor
Taking back the jungle said goodbye to the two kind, friendly gentlemen.
We decided again to walk from the bus station to our hotel, and as usual, it was much farther and hotter than we had thought. We felt, for the first time since getting to Thailand, that we were the only travellers around. Everyone smiled, waved, honked their horns and stared at us with curiosity as we walked by. We felt like celebrities. Khorat was an industrial, modern city and we spent the night wandering around the streets, enjoying dinner and a drink at a restaurant called 'Chez Andy'. There, Christine tried a drink called a 'Randy Andy' (really, how could she refuse), then headed back to the hotel and off to bed.
We were up super early to catch the bus to Aranya Prathet, the town at the Thailand/Cambodia border. The bus we got on was unusually nice, with plush purple seats with an Egyptian pharaoh design, and tassels along the windows. They were very comfy seats, and we also had a TV which blasted Thai karaoke songs with hooked on phonics lyrics subtitled across the bottom so even we could read the words and follow along. As it was
Ta Prohm, Angkor
A tangle of roots so early, we saw an incredible sunrise that morning, on the way to the border.
We arrived in Aranya Prathet, the town bordering Cambodia, took a tuk-tuk for a couple kilometers, then started to make our way through to Poipet, on the Cambodian side. We got our visa there, but only after being made to pay in Thai Baht by a police officer, which cost us about $10 more! Then we made our way to the free shuttle bus that should have taken us to the bus station a short ways away. This is where our hassles really began.
Some guys wearing yellow shirts with an official looking logo rushed us onto the bus. We weren't sure if we were on the right bus, since we felt a little uncomfortable after being rushed and were the only two on the bus. After that, some other tourists also got on, and we figured that we were over-exaggerating, and should just go with the flow.
We got to the so called 'station' and asked when the bus to Siem Reap was coming. We were told that the bus wasn't leaving for about four hours, but that we could take
a taxi for about $50 US. As we looked around, we noticed that there were no other travellers, except the ones from the bus with us. Then it clicked that these guys in yellow shirts are touts, we are in a travel agents so called 'bus station' office, and not at the real bus station. We had gotten on the wrong bus. We asked them if there was another bus station, and they told us there wasn't any other. We all realized that these guys were full of crap, just wanted our money, and as a group we all took off out the door in search of the real bus station.
It was us, four Germans, and a guy from Switzerland all trudging down the hot, dusty street with our packs on our backs. We all marched on stubbornly while one tout, a guy with a little mustache, followed us down the street, trying every line possible to get us back to the 'bus station'. We asked locals left and right where to find the real buses, but no one would tell us while the tout was following us. People drove by honking at us like we were an
army of rebels actually fighting back against this yellow shirt mafia brigade. It was so hot out and everyone was getting a little cranky and confused.
The Germans took off up the road, still in search of the mystery station, while we (us and the Swiss guy) stopped for water and asked some more locals for directions. It seemed like they were actually afraid to tell us while the mustached tout was with us. He was now acting crazier than ever, shouting and sending a motorbike with three yellow shirts on it after the other group going up the street, while he stuck to us like glue. After he started to get a bit nasty, saying that we thought we were strong, but we were going to cry, and other such nonsense, while we would just laugh at him. Finally, we were at the breaking point and we decided to share a taxi with our new friend Bruno to Siem Reap.
All we wanted to do was get the hell out of this strange, tout-mafia filled town of Poipet. While mustache man wasn't looking, we flagged down a cab, and before we got in, we made sure that
At Angkor Thom, Angkor
Cambodian work crew tailgate party the taxi company had nothing to do with these touts. The pissed off look on the mustache guys face almost made all the hassle worth it, and as we drove away, he lost his commission.
The three of us figured the worst was over, but after a few minutes in the taxi, we realized that there was more to come. The taxi driver was probably the fastest and craziest one in all of Cambodia. No seat belts, no shocks, and no regard for his life or anyone of his passengers. We whipped past kids on bikes, truckloads full of locals, and everything else, the driver held down the horn almost the whole time. Bottoming out through potholes and speeding through dust clouds where there were sudden moments of blindness, until the dust would clear.
This isn't your everyday road either. Anyone who has been on the road from Poipet to Siem Reap knows it's among the bumpiest, most terrible roads to travel. It takes regular buses from 5 to 6 hours to go 150 kilometers! It's supposed to take a taxi going fast 3.5 hours. Our trip was completed in under 2 hours and 40 minutes, including gassing
Angkor Thom, Angkor
To climb...or not to climb? up and a stop for a snack! For those of you from Maple Ridge, it compares to driving the dirt logging roads at Stave Lake at 100+ kms per hour, minus the seat belts, and sanity of course. We did, obviously, make it though, but we were very happy it was over and that we were in Siem Reap.
We were dropped off outside of town at the taxi station, so we had to fend off guesthouse touts to top it off. These guys pretend to 'help' you out by getting you a hotel, then get a commission after you get overcharged for your room. Our tuk-tuk took us their hotel, and we said no, and made our way to our hotel of choice. We went for dinner and beer with Bruno, then called it an evening, as all of us had a mild case of travelling exhaustion.
The next morning, we got up early to visit our main destination in Cambodia, the temples of Angkor. We opted for a three day pass, to make sure that we would have enough time to see everything, but still make it back to Bangkok for our flight. We hired a
Detail, Angkor
Andy and the lovely dancing apsara 'celestial nymphs' tuk-tuk (a motorbike attached to a cart), with our driver Som, who was really great. He drove us around on his Cambodian version of a Ferrari (so he said) and took us to many different temples.
The high-lights of the day included: Ta Prohm - the amazing temples that are overgrown with trees, merging with the jungle, built in the 12th to 13th centuries, tree roots wrapping around stone, these are the temples that were featured in the movie 'Tomb Raider'. Ta Keo - an earlier temple built around 1000 AD, with five tall towers, a great place to climb up and see the view. Angkor Thom - a huge temple complex filled with many amazing temples, the last capital of the Khmer empire, our favorite area was the Bayon, featured at the center and having towers with large stone faces on each side. And finally the last stop, Angkor Wat - the famed site, fronted by a wide moat, it was an amazing place, and though filled with people, there were many places to find solitude. There is no match for the incredible Angkor temples, which were illuminated as the sun went down, while monkeys filled the grounds,
climbing the temples around them.
The funny and strange moments of visiting the temples of Angkor included the crowds of people selling things, especially outside the more popular sites. Outside a temple entrance, kids would call you and try to sell you drinks and textiles, books, postcards, bracelets, and more. One woman trying to sell Andy some t-shirts kept repeating, 'Hey Mr. Longhair, buy something'. We had to haggle with people for bottles of water, which were priced at really high rates. Victims of land mines planted by the Khmer Rouge played music near the entrance of some temples for money.
For our second day, we decided to take a different approach and ride bikes through the ruins. We rented these rickety beauties that we hoped would last throughout the day. Riding a bike through Siem Reap was unlike anything we could have imagined. The roads are full of potholes, the traffic does what it wants, and people tailgate you with their vehicles as they lay on the horn. Once we got used to it, it seemed pretty effortless. Most of the transportation in Siem Reap is by bike or motorbike, so you just try and blend in
The Bayon, Angkor Thom, Angkor
Cambodians in traditional dress with the locals. We rode close to 30 kilometers throughout the day and surprisingly, both bikes made it with flying colours. We took a longer route, visiting many smaller temples, as well as some larger ones. It was great seeing the temples at our own pace, relaxing in the shade and not feeling rushed at all.
On our third day, we decided that we had enjoyed pedaling around so much that we would do it again. Since our legs were a bit tired, we followed the same route that we had taken with our tuk-tuk driver on the first day, but instead visiting many of the smaller stops that we had missed, as well as revisiting our favorites. Again, so much fun and at a very relaxing pace.
We didn't spend too much time in the town of Siem Reap, since we were touring around Angkor, but what we did see was interesting. It was full of restaurants catering to tourists, and also had a big, open, food stall area where locals and tourists ate together in harmony. There was a big handicraft market where everyone did the usual haggling and trying to get you into their store.
They kept calling Christine 'Lady' which was pretty funny to hear over and over as we walked through the market. Cambodian people were very friendly, having funny little chats with us as we walked around. We went out with Bruno one last time for dinner, since we were both heading off in different directions the next day. He said that we could visit him in Switzerland, so hopefully if we are passing that way, we can stop by for a hello.
Our time in Cambodia was short, and we had to return to Bangkok to catch our flight. After our nightmare trip there, we decided to take a less scary mode of transportation, that being the bus. One thing we now realize is that if you see a nice picture of a bus on your ticket, it is probably not the same bus that you will be taking. Our bus to the border ended up being an old, completely beat-up minibus crammed full of tourists and locals. At least it wasn't scary and fast, but it was by far the bumpiest and most dusty ride of our lives. At one point, we broke something, possibly a tie rod, which
led to a stop and a quick welding session on the side of the road. We could feel our bodies aching as we entered Poipet and thankfully got off the bus. It took over six hours to return the 150 km distance to the border.
We were late in crossing the border, which meant that we missed our bus transfer, and had to wait a couple hours for the next bus. When it arrived, it was surprisingly nice, but by the time we finally arrived in Bangkok, the 10 hour trip we were promised had turned into 15 hours. Back in Bangkok, we got off the bus, tired as ever, yet content to have successfully completed this leg of our journey.
We had a day to rest before our next stop, India. Were we ready for India? Is anybody ever ready for India? We guessed that we would soon find out. Next stop, New Delhi!
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Katherine
non-member comment
Hi guys! Sounds like your having an awesome time touring around the different temples. Your pictures are amazing. Keep up the good work.