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From Krabi, we took Air Asia (one of the MANY cheap airlines in Asia) to Bangkok International Airport. As we checked into our Bangkok Air flight to Siam Reap, we were kindly surprised and delighted to be invited into the Bangkok Air Boutique Lounge. I'm not quite sure why we were receiving the royal treatment, but I am not one to turn down such an invitation.
The lounge was great - quiet, soothing music, free beverages, and comfortable chairs. Since we had 4 hours to kill, this was the perfect rest stop for us. But - it's also a great lesson in customer service. As a recent MBA grad, I've certainly heard professors expound upon the importance of "delighting the customer." It's rare (at least on a student budget) to have an experience where you actually experience such delight in person! Our lounge stay was a simple but delightful, and made travelling that day extremely enjoyable. In fact, it made me realize just how different air travel is in Asia compared to the USA. In the States, we DREAD going to the airport. The traffic. The lines. The (usually) angry and unhelpful TSA agents. Overbooking. Ugly waiting areas. Anyway,
that's my sales pitch for Bangkok Air (our other airlines have been great as well). Why can't we do it as well as they do in Asia?
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Back to the blog.
We arrived to Siam Reap International, and were soon whisked away to our hotel (The Villa Siam Reap- make sure you stay here if you're a budget traveler) by tuk tuk (tuk tuks are essentially motorbike driven carriages for the uninitiated). Mr. Han, our fantastic tuk tuk dri ver for the whole trip, picked us up, and immediately offered us a refreshment (again - simple delights!). Upon reaching the hotel, we were greeted by the extremely friendly and accommodating service staff. They helped us get settled to our rooms, and guided us to the variety of tour options available. For our three days/3 nights in Siam Reap, we chose to have two fully guided days, and one day tbd.
For days 1 and 2, we experienced Ankor Wat temple hopping at its finest. Led by Mr. Tia, our guide, we saw the best temples in the area. Though every guide is different, I would recommend hiring one for Siam Reap. It would be all
too easy to rush through the temples simply taking pictures. The guides definitely help fill in some of the important historical and cultural contexts for the visit.
Ankor Wat, the most well known temple in Cambodia (and one of the wonders of the world), was our first stop. We also hit up Ankor Thom (the ancient capital of Cambodia), Bayon Temple (with all 200+ large Buddha faces), Ta Prohm (a.k.a Tomb Raider), and many others.
Many of these temples were built by one king (Jaya Sawadiman the 7th) so that he could achieve Buddhist Nirvana. These temples were all adorned with many images of the Buddha... that is until his Hindu successor (Jaya Sawadiman the 8th) obliterated most of the Buddhas at these temples. Literally, #8 went into these elaborate and beautiful temples with a cadre of stone carvers, and had them chisel out (where possible) every image of Buddha.
My favorite temples were Tomb Raider and Bayon. Tomb Raider is technically named Ta Prohm, and it was built as a tomb to #7's mother. What makes this temple so remarkable is how, over time, the jungle has grown around (and on top) of this temple. As
you can see from my photos, it's quite striking to see all the large trees growing on top of the crumbling sandstone walls of this temple.
Bayon is also a magical place. It has 5 main towers (3,5, 7 and 9 are lucky numbers in both Hinduism and Buddhism), and each tower (50+) have four Buddha faces on them. I took some of my favorite photos there.
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Temple hopping in Cambodia is such a great experience, but it's not without its challenges. No longer are the temples guarded by royal sentinels, nor Khymer troops. Nope. Instead, they are flanked on all sides by cute little Cambodian kids, trying desperately to sell you anything they can. "Mistah, mistah, you buy my . I give you great deal." They will hound your tuk tuk, and resisting their goods is not for the faint of heart. Brett K., our resident Mother Theresa, was first to secumb to the "temple guards." Next went Dave, then Jamil, and then me. Yep - I bought some really cool items from the little ones.
Note: Speaking in a language other than English will not dissuade these people (I tried French... they knew that too) . Many of them know more than two, and a few can speak the necessary phrases in over five languages.
Be forewarned - they're everywhere! Proceed with caution.
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Cambodian food is fabulous. We had a great Krymer (that's how Cambodians call themselves) dinner at Khymer Kitchen. For some reason, pumpkin dishes are among their specialties, and they're great. You can't go wrong with their curries and amoks as well. Stop into the Blue Pumpkin also. Chill vibe and good lunch food.
We had one dinner at Roulan, a large buffet restaurant with an evening dance show. The dance, called Apsira (a Buddhist concept of the perfect woman), is a great cultural tradition of the Cambodians. The costumes are probably very recognizable to most - they're symbolic of the religious dress among many of the South East Asian Buddhists - and the dances are quite intricate and elegant.
We had our last Cambodian meal at Abacus, a more upscale place (for Cambodia - $10 entrees). The general manager of the Villa Siam Reap, Cheryl Lynne, recommended the place, and introduced us to the head chef, Reno. Pretty cool place.
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My last note about Cambodia surrounds the issue of happiness.
We visited the extremely impoverished "Floating Villages" of Tonle Sap on our final day. The villages themselves were a little under whelming. We took at 40 minutes tuk tuk drive to the lake, paid a $10 levy (which is 50% pocketed by the cops according to a good source) to get into the area. The whole ride was really dusty, and I wore my handkerchief over my mouth for the entire ride. Once there, we hopped on a small boat, riding the "river" up to the lake. The river is brown and filthy, used for all kinds of local needs. This river rises over 20 feet over the year in the heart of the wet season, and wet season had just begun. Every house and building on the river is on pontoons to adapt to the seasons. In fact, at the peak of wet season, the people move to a nearby mountain for a few months to get out of the water.
The floating villages were quite honestly one of the poorest areas I've ever seen. The floating houses are no more than a room in a bamboo hut, floating (sometimes unevenly) on pontoons. The people there have very very little.
The surprising part? Everyone was really happy, and extremely kind. It would seem to me that without the trappings of material wealth, these people focus on their most important needs (physiological and social/family). These kind people were not in a rat race of any kind, but were merely subsisting (adults) or learning a trade (kids). It was truly interesting to see the apparent paradox between happiness and poverty.
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Next stop, Hanoi, Vietnam!
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