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Published: December 21st 2012
Silver Pagoda
The Silver Pagoda in Phnom Penh. The interior is fantastic with its silver tiles and gold statues. The exterior is not bad either.Our chapter in Cambodia is now finished. In our first Cambodia blog we wrote about the dark chapter in the history of the country, so here we will focus on our experiences of the present.
Our first impression of the country was that the population is somewhat poorer in comparison to Vietnam. In Phnom Penh we met quite a few beggars and the sad sight of people without arms and legs. Even today there are still many landmines in the country, so not the best place for a lonesome trek in the wild. In general the people seem to be very friendly. We can give a few examples. The Cambodians really care about us. We certainly shouldn’t feel tired, so all the time a (new) tuk tuk driver offered his services. Also we shouldn’t have any tensions, so we were offered many a massage. Finally it was important that we never experienced any hunger or thirst, so practical all small restaurants called after us and offered us food and drinks. Yes, here you really feel welcome.
Phnom Penh is the capital of the country, but a lot smaller than for example a city like Saigon. Here you’ll find some
Lonely beach
The name is actually Lonely beach and is situated on Koh Rong really impressive temples and also the royal palace. The palace was unfortunately closed in respect of the recently diseased king. We visited the magnificent Silver Pagoda just next to the palace. The main building is decorated with more than 5000 silver tiles and there are many figures on display made in pure gold. We were very excited about a life size Buddha figure. It weighs 90 kilos and is made in pure gold. It is decorated by 9584 diamonds, the biggest weighing 25 carat. We could stand and watch it for a long time. We wouldn’t have thought that beforehand, but the beauty of the figure kind of spellbound us. We must get one to our living room. Amazingly the Silver Pagoda survived the Khmer Rouge regime, since the bastards used it for propaganda purposes. Especially they wanted to impress their Chinese friends.
Our last comment on Phnom Penh must be the difference between rich and poor. In a way it is a bit disgusting to watch a Ferrari parked in one street and in the next street watch handicapped beggars. It is a bit difficult to experience this poverty knowing that we are extremely wealthy compared to them.
View from the restaurant
Palm trees and the blue ocean. Not a bad start with a hearty breakfast. However, we do believe that we support the people by travelling in their country and spending money (in local places). Should we give money to the beggars? It hurts to say no, but we feel that it is wrong to give money away especially to the children. They have to go to school and not experience that it is better to beg. In Cambodia many families must survive on USD 2 per day, so in that light, you should also be very careful in regard to how much one would give, if you choose this way.
In our view the biggest attractions in Phnom Penh can be experienced in two days.
After Phnom Penh we kind of craved for some beach time. So we went south in a minibus for 3½ hours to Sihanoukville. We won’t use time writing about Sihanoukville, so we continue on a 3½ hours noisy boat ride to the island of Koh Rong and Lonely Beach. Here we stayed for 6 nights in a very simple bungalow resort. Our room had neither air condition nor fan. There were no other people nearby except for a few local fishermen from time to time. We could
007
We actually met James Bond! listen to a symphony of the sounds of the jungle and that was basically it, in terms of entertainment. The beach was fantastic with a sandy bottom far out and with coconut trees right down to the edge of the water. However, there were snakes in the paradise. Already on day one, Christian almost sat on a beautiful green snake and later he saw a big fat black snake. But there were other types of snakes in the paradise, in form of a veritable mosquito invasion every afternoon around dusk. Inge also had the pleasure of sand flies. Apparently they like her taste. The bites of the flies apparently are about 10.000 times worse than mosquito bites and they are not a pretty sight.
We also had to negotiate a leech swamp on an excursion to the other side of the island. There was a water filled area of around 50 meters, with a depth of up till 50 centimeters. We had to pass this twice. Amazingly Inge didn’t get bitten and later Christian tested how long it takes a leech to get your scent. I put a foot in the water and after 3 minutes I had the
Koh Rong
Water buffalo on Koh Rong "guarding" the leech path. Fortunately the bull was friendly. company of two big leeches. They are gross but apparently harmless.
We had 5 full days on the island and enjoyed snorkeling and finding small stuff. Amongst others we found a small black seahorse in really shallow water. It was very special to get out of bed at 7 am and go for a swim in the morning light with no one around. After the swim we were spoiled with a good breakfast in the open restaurant with a view to the ocean and the palm trees. It was with mixed feelings we said goodbye to Lonely Beach. It is a very special place and the owner, Dani, will do almost anything to make you feel at home. But the lack of activities, especially in the heat during the day, and the many mosquitoes and sand flies, means that we won’t return. Nonetheless, we are very happy to have experienced a place like this.
The last paragraph in the Cambodia chapter was Siem Reap. Siem Reap is worth a visit because of one thing, the temples of Angkor. We had found a small guesthouse to only USD 11 per night, so we could afford to buy tickets for
Sunset over Angkor
The beautiful sky over the temples of Angkor. the temples. A 3 day pass costs USD 40 per person. Then you have to add a tuk tuk driver, unless you want to cycle out there. The temples are spread over a big area, so we would recommend the tuk tuk option for at least one visit.
We started out with a sunset tour. We were almost alone, when we deduct 10.000 other tourists with the same idea. Nonetheless the sunset was really beautiful, and we enjoyed the light and even managed to get a few photos without other tourists in the frame.
The next morning we got up at 03.45 am to watch the sunrise over Angkor Wat. Surprisingly we were not alone. But we were early and got a view in the first row, so that was fine. It was worth the one hour wait before the sun came up. Angkor Wat in one word is monumental. Angkor Wat is the biggest Hindu temple complex in the world. They started building it 1100 years ago and it is very impressive what they could accomplish at that time. We can’t really describe it in words. It has to be experienced. We will only mention that the
Sunrise
The beautiful sunrise over the magnificent Angkor Wat. symmetry, the size, its decorations and the enormous moats almost takes your breath away.
In its primetime Angkor had a population of around 1 million people (don’t ask us how they found out). On the same time, London was just a town with approximately 50.000 inhabitants. Today only the temples remain, since the houses were constructed in woods and are long gone. We wonder what happened to the people of Angkor.
The Angkor Thom temples are equally impressive. In its own way it is as impressive as Angkor Wat. We could spend a lot of time watching the special constructions and reliefs. We ended our visit by visiting the jungle temple of Ta Prohm of Tomb Raider fame. This is the only temple where the jungle has kind of taken over. It gives a very special ambience and sense of adventure to walk around in a temple like this. We would wish that there was a time machine so we could go back and just experience one day in its heyday. After 8 hours of temple sightseeing, we must admit that we got a bit of a temple fatigue. So we headed back to the guesthouse and some
A lake?
No, the moat surrounding Angkor Wat. rest in the room.
We went back to Angkor Wat one more day to see the complex in the afternoon light. This was a good decision. This is a place that deserves more than one visit and for photographers it is fantastic to play around in the different light conditions. In regard to photographers, we hope that picture taking doesn’t take a toll on the buildings. In that case they will soon be gone.
This was the end to our Cambodia chapter. We find that we have got a good impression of the country, but probably also a country that we won’t revisit. Apart from Angkor Wat, we feel that we can find other places that beat Cambodia on the things we like to do in our holidays. When that is said, then places like S21, The Killing Fields, the Silver Pagoda, Lonely Beach and the temples of Angkor have left an eternal footprint in our minds.
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Konrad
non-member comment
What a marvelous pictures of the island, Really great!