Advertisement
Published: February 25th 2009
We are writing this blog freshly rejuvenated after spending a few days on a remote island which was well deserved after the week that we just experienced. We left the island of Don Det in Laos destined for the border of Cambodia. We arrived there only to find out that we had actually overstayed our Laos visa by 5 days and had to pay $10/day in fees. When we looked at our visas we thought that the period it was issued was the time that we were permitted in the country, when in actuality that was our entrace time period, in which a 30 day visa was issued when you arrived. Luckily my guard just looked at my passport and stamped me though, however Matt had to pay $50 to leave the country. We learned an expensive lesson. We had to walk the 1km from the Laos border to the Cambodia border where we were given visas and stamped through. We had to board a different bus and by the time we made it there there were very few seats left. Luggage was piled high in the aisles and we had to climb over it all to get to the only
open seats at the very back of the bus. Sitting squished with backpacks at our feet there was only 1 seat left on the bus to fill and the driver wouldn't leave until it was filled. Half an hour later sitting on a bus in the swealtering heat (Matt was melting!) one more guy arrived and we were off...well, for a few kilometers anyways until the bus broke down. The driver hoped out and started hammering something and with the problem supposedly fixed we set off again. This time we only made it a few hundred meters before the bus stalled out again. A couple of Cambodian guys got off the bus to rectify the problem once again and this time they yelled at me through the window that I would have to give up my seat as it was needed for the gas tanks to sit on! So, for the next hour I sat on a throne of backpacks in the middle of the aisle (not as comfortable as you would think!) and Matt sat beside 2 jugs of gas sucking back the diesel fumes which were hooked up to the engine of the bus by a make-shift tube
Headless carving at Bantay Srei
The heads of statues were removed and sold as they were thought to be the most valuable. Other statues heads were hacked off during the Khmer Rouge genocide as they tried to rid of all religious practicesconnecting the two. We were promised that we would be changing buses in an hour. We soon learned that they will tell you anything to keep you happy.
Sure enough an hour later we pull off at the city of Steung Trang but not to a bus station but rather a hotel where we were told we were stopping for lunch and then getting back on the same bus to continue our journey. I was near my breaking point anticipating another 10 hours sitting on top of backpacks, so along with others who were put off by the condition of the bus (which we paid $30 for, our most expensive journey so far) we complained to the coordinator and demanded a new bus. As there were several destinations all on this same bus together the coordinator decided to split us up according to where we were headed. The group going to Phnom Penn set off in the same bus and we were told that he was getting another bus to take us the rest of the way to Siem Reap. Happy that we didn't have to get back in the diesel fuel smelling bus we waited for our bus
to show up. Another hour later the coordinator came out and told us that he couldn't get another bus and we would have to wait until the morning in order to complete the rest of our journey. At this point we admitted defeat and checked into a guesthouse.
We set off at 6am the next day and the coordinator promised us that we would be in Siem Reap by 2pm. Well, we finally, finally arrived although not at the 2pm as promised (6pm) and with Matt's bag dripping wet from some unknown liquid in the bottom of the bus that smelled to be a mixture of fish and rust...mmm (add it to the list).
G.S.T bus company, we shake our fists at you! We hope that the saying, "First impressions aren't everything" has some truth in it, otherwise we are doomed for the rest of our experience in Cambodia!
Ok, enough of that rant!
The Temples of Angkor The main attraction of Siem Reap are the many ancient temples of the Khmer empire which are the heart and soul of the country and the pride of every Cambodian. The temples date back to the 9th century
and served as the places of worship for the Hindu then Buddhist Gods. There are hundreds of temples in the area which are now in some state of ruins after years of war and most surrenduring to the jungle. The area became of interest again in the early 1900's when the French decided to rebuild and clear away much of the jungle growth. The temples are now the main reason for visiting Cambodia, and no trip to the country is really complete without a visit.
A tuk-tuk driver approached us at the bus station and introduced himself as "Number 2" so we hired him as our driver for our days exploring the temples. He didn't come at a cheap price, although as the main tourist attraction of the country and therefore not as budget friendly, we didn't have much choice. We woke up early the next morning and were taken to watch the sunrise, along with several hundred others, at the most famous, and largest temple, Angkor Wat. The sunrise was more like watching the light in the sky illuminate the temple as there was so much haze to allow for the sun to shine through. We explored the
temple and at one point came to an alter where a monk was handing out insense. He instructed us to bow 5 times which symbolizes praying for those important to you - family, friends, each other, etc. We followed his ritual and were about to leave when he said that now we have to pay a donation to the monks. We learned that there is no such thing as a nice gesture when you are only seen as a tourist with money!
Two brought us to his friends place (go figure!) for breakfast, and then he showed us where to explore the other temples in the area. After some much needed food we walked through what would be our favourite temple, Bayon. The most distinctive features of this temple are the 216 massive faces carved into the stonework which seem to stare at you as you walk around. This temple is also special as it was the only shrine in Angkor that was built solely to worship Buddha. You could walk up multiple levels of this temple which also provided a great view of the other temples in the area.
Our other favourite temple of the day, Ta
Prohm, is one of the most famous temples as it is being completely overrun with the growth from the jungle and is still mostly in the state it was found. It was the temple made famous by the movie Tomb Raider. Trees grow out of many of the ruins with their roots twisting and contorting around the stones, threating the support and stability of many areas. This temple was fantastic to walk through, although being one of favourites, we were joined by many Asian tour groups who all wanted their picture (sometimes a big group one) next to every jungle branch! I was just happy I got to walk on the same ground as Angelina Jolie!
As we were up at 4:30am to get to Angkor for sunrise, we decided to call it quits early in the afternoon and arranged for Two to pick us up the next morning for day number 2. We did regret that we paid the extra money for a 3 day pass as we could have packed more into one day, but there are only so many temples you can take in one day before you lose sight of just how extrodinary they are
and they just become piles of rocks!
The next day Two took us 15km outside of the main temple area to what is considered to be the 'jewel of the Angkor artistic crown', Bantay Srei. When we first arrived we were taken aback at how small the temple was relative to others that we had seen yesterday, but once inside it didn't disappoint. Bantay Srei is made mostly from pink sandstone and has many intricate carvings in the stonework. It is believed that this temple was constructed solely by women, and by the details in the carvings and the many flower depictions, I was convinced! Although much of the temple and its carvings have been reconstructed, you can imagine what it must have been like a thousand years ago and appreciate the amount of work put in.
Later on that day we visited another temple which we enjoyed, Preah Khan. Another large temple it is arranged in a cross formation with a main causeway leading up to one entrance. We eavsdropped on a guide telling a couple that this entrance was only ever used by the King and all of the other worshippers had to enter from the
other directions. When walking through we noticed that each doorway gradually got smaller when approaching the middle, and the centre of worship, when coming from all directions other than the Kings entrance. We were told that this was so that when the King made his entrance everyone would be in the bowing position as they had to continually duck to get through the doorways. I'm sure they could have told us almost anything and we would have believed them! Haggis anyone?
Our temple picks: 1. Bayon
2. Ta Prohm
3. Bantay Srei (Lindsay) Preah Khan (Matt)
Now, to explain the title of a bitter sweet experience. We are walking through the ruins and recontructions of one of the most amazing marvels of the world and awed by their grandeur as well as the intricate details, only to be followed and pestered by persistent children trying to sell us their scarves, trinkets, photocopied books, bracelets, water, anything! At every chance they get they are in your face and yelling at you, "Mister you buy something". They have a perfect selling scheme as well. First they try to sell you something, then they try to impress you with what they
have memorized, then they use the guilt approach saying how poor they are, and then when they realize that you really aren't going to buy anything from them, they insult you!
A little dialogue to explain what we had yelled at us hundreds of time each day.
Young Girl - "Mister you buy something?"
Us - "No thank you"
Young Girl - "Ok, you buy from me later, I remember you"
Us - "No, thank you I don't want to buy anything"
Young Girl - "Mister where are you from?"
Us - "Canada"
Young Girl - "Oh, Canada is a very large country with 4 seasons and it is very cold there right now. You speak two languages, English and French. Ottawa is your countires capitol. You buy something from me."
Us - "Wow, you are very smart, but no, I don't want to buy anything"
Young Girl - "Mister, can't you afford just one dollar for me. If I don't have money I can't eat tonight"
Us -
How do you say no to that! But we refuse to support these children. "I don't want to buy anything"
Young Girl -
defeated "People from Canada are very bad!"
We can't even explain how many times we had similar conversations with young children, sometimes even hearing their parents, or worse, pimps, yelling directions at them to not give up. Even after climbing up to the top of temples, no sooner do you set foot off the top and very steep step, do they run at you thrusting their braclets and scarves in your face saying, "Mister/Lady you buy something". Then as you exit the temple, you have them screaming at you, "Cold water, mister you buy from me, cold water, mango, pineapple". Keep in mind this whole time that you are walking around temples which symbolize peace and tranquility which was once a prominent place of worship. There were even times where we had to practically run through parts of the temple as children were yelling at us from every side thrusting their stuff so close to your face and reapeating over and over, "Lady, you buy from me". It was very frustrating as we were missing parts, as well as disheartening to see what these children have to do day after day. We tried several approaches throughout the day to see if any strategy worked. At first
it was a polite, "no thank you", then just "no, no, no", then completely ignoring them....nothing worked! On one hand you realize that Cambodia is a country plagued with tragedy and many families are in a worse then poverty status and are forced to using their children for money, which makes you feel like a terrible person with a black heart for not helping these children and families out. But on the other hand they are completely using you, knowing you are a tourist and have money and with the right words will coerice you into parting with some money. We however stand firm in our decision to not support the use of children and as guilty as we feel at times, can not support their begging as this will only continue to teach them that that is the only way for them to earn money. Now if they were trying to sell us an ice cold beer at the top of the temple we might be convinced not to turn the other way!
We decided to opt out of the third day of our passes as we were templed out, and unfortunately were very put off by the
throngs of children trying to sell us stuff! There is only so many times you can say no to someone before you want to wrap your hands around their necks and scream "NO" at them! We feared for the children's lives and used our better judgement to continue on to Cambodia's capitol of Phnom Penn. It is very unfortunate that our experience at the temples will most likely be remembered for the amount of children selling things at every turn and the bitter taste it left in our mouthes.
Advertisement
Tot: 0.095s; Tpl: 0.022s; cc: 8; qc: 24; dbt: 0.0378s; 1; m:domysql w:travelblog (10.17.0.13); sld: 1;
; mem: 1.1mb
Heather
non-member comment
I laughed all the way through this blog. It seems Cambodia has a special way of introducing backpackers to their country...my bus experience was much of the same. As painful as it was at the time, it is now one of my best stories. You two are truly experiencing SE Asia and I love re-living it through you! Keep the blogs coming :)