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Published: November 29th 2006
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Siem Reap; Capital of Japan
Mum, dad, three kids and about forty six dead ducks. November 23 - 24, 2006
I was pleasantly surprised when I finally managed to free myself from the dung eating Frenchman what a picturesque scene the tiny Siem Reap airport made and having obtained my visa and thanking my lucky stars I'd had the forethought to take an A4 page of passport photos with me I boarded a cab and headed into town.
Immediately it was noticeable that Cambodia is far and away the poor relation of Thailand and Bangkok in particular. The preferred/only modes of private transport here are cycle, motorcycle or moto, basically a motorbyke pulling a trailer with a seat in, and it wasn't uncommon to see families of five all sitting astride one struggling machine. Another thing that strikes you, not only in Cambodia but Asia in general, is that at any given time of any given day someone, somewhere will be cooking on the side of the street and someone, somewhere will be eating the results.
My driver introduced himself as Chan and took me straight past the endless rows of upmarket colonial style hotels on the main airport road (not what I expected to see in a small town in the middle
Siem Reap; Capital of Japan
It was worth a broken toe ! Just. of Cambodia) to a battered old place in the centre of town which would set me back twenty bucks a night. It reminded of the sort of hotel you'd get in the old westerns but still, with A/C, TV and two double beds who could complain. Chan explained I'd be his master for as long as I wanted and suggested we went straight to see the sunset at one of the ruined temples beyond Angkar Wat. Relieved I'd finally managed to escape from the Frenchmans breathe I hastily agreed and when we got to our destination he explained that the ruins were on top of the rather large hill to our left, pointed to the the path and told me to follow the hoardes of Japanese and Korean trippers making their way up click, clicking as they went. When I reached the top I scrambled up the somewhat disappointing ruins and settled down to wait the ten minutes or so for the setting. It is always great to watch the sun go down in a cool location and this one was just that, but it was at this point things started to go a bit wrong. Whether or not the
Siem Reap; Capital of Japan
The Siem Reap Paramedic Volunteer Reserve (staff from the hotel) get to work on my toe? nips were whispering coded conspiracy theories around amongst themselves to the tune of "let's leave the western fools up here all night" I don't know but within minutes of the sun going down I was almost alone, all bar four or five other westerners and a couple of security chaps, in pitch darkness at the top of a very unfamiliar trail. It was as if the orientals had vapourised. In my haste to drop my bag in my room I'd foolishly neglected to change from the flip flops that I'd flown in to a more sturdy footwear and was within a minute of successfully negotiating the sandy path to the foot of the hill, arms out front groping for anything that may cause obstruction, when I was overcome with a flood of pain. The big toe of my right foot, already overhanging the end of the flip flop, had stubbed itself on a large stone half removing my nail in the process and when I made it back to the car park where Chan was, by now alone, the light of his headlights confirmed my fears. Fortunately, Chan knew the best treatment;"I pour brake oil on, it sting but be
Siem Reap; Capital of Japan
Bloody Scousers; They get everywhere ! okay tommorow". He looked put out and a little bit puzzled when I told him thanks but no thanks and that I'd stick to my Savlon.
That evening hobbling around the centre of Siem Reap revealed it to be a pleasant, touristy destination if such a place exists noticeable for one thing. There wasn't a Jap to be seen.
Day two was spent at the temples of Angkar Wat. Various twelth century ruins made all the more remarkable by the fact that the stones had been transported by bamboo raft and elephant from over 60 kilometres away and that hundreds of thousands of people had contributed to their construction. That said, you can only look at ruins, however spectacular in blistering heat for so long so I took an extended break in the afternoon to check out e mails and have a shower before returning To Angkar Wat itself. Cambodia will unfortunately never be known for it's telecommunications prowess and I had to up and leave numerous so called 'internet cafe's' when, ten minutes after logging on, I was still waiting for the first page to load.
Unfortunately, when I did return I wasn't the only one.
Siem Reap; Capital of Japan
I finally sussed out how to work the self timer. There's a lot of time for contemplation when you travel alone and the ipod is invaluable. The Japanese were out in force again causing me to prematurely return to my hotel to prepare myself for a very early start. Next stop Phnom Penn.
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waymo
non-member comment
getting about
By god lad your getting about a bit. That toe is gonna slow you down a bit. It's bound to fester in that heat. your gonna wake up all maggotty one morning, Eeew.