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Published: October 2nd 2008
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The move from Thailand to Cambodia was interesting - the road to the border at Poi Pet was good but then deteriorates into a muddy mass of pot holes. Gary thought he was lucky to be able to sit in the front to get a good view, but in hindsight being able to see the "near misses"with cows, motor cycles, and gas trucks put his nerves on edge and at his age he has to be careful. Being at the back off the bus was not better as a couple of the group were bombarded with the bags that were being thrown about with the driver hitting the potholes at high speed.
The gruelling 5 hour journey from the border to Siem Reap down the "dancing road" was finally over when we pulled into our guest house. We were unsure of what our accommodation was to be as we were on a "budget trip" but were pleasantly surprised when the rooms were allocated and to Gary's great relief the toilet was of the European "sit and relax" variety as opposed to the squat over the hole in the ground type. 3 nights here would give us plenty of time to explore
Angkor Wat - the largest religious area in the world and other temples in the Angkor region. We had a group meal out to try the local cuisine which was good as we could really get to know the individuals we would be sharing so many bus trips with. Food was OK but most people felt it might be a bit limited over time and it was surprisingly under spiced in comparison to Thai food. That aside we got to view Apsara dancing and the beer flowed, prices were cheap and we ended up in the obligatory bar As our senior years caught up with us we retired to bed early whilst "the youngsters" stayed to really set the theme for the next few weeks.
A full day tour to the temple region was the order of the first full day in Siem Reap. A short bus journey to Angkor Wat was followed by the group being set upon by a large number of children selling vitally important products such as postcards, bangles, and snacks. The high level of sound produced by these kids was a bit much for Gary, but Carolyn in the true tradition could not say no
and is now the proud owner of 10 bangles for $2. ( Only 7 survived the first drops of rain - good quality they are definitely not).
The temples as expected were a marvel to behold and of the the many temples in the area we basically just took in the main (important) ones as decided by the tour guide and these were:
Angkor Wat - The main pyramid temple in the area (huge!)
The Bayon - Known for its carved smiling faces
Banteay Srei - It is small and made from pink sandstone which has been delicately carved
Ta Prohm - A massive temple that has not been cleared of the jungle and was used in the film Tomb raider. This was our favourite.
Overall it was a long day and it is quite easy to get "templed out". The heat and humidity plays a large part and can suck the life out of you. The whole group, although having been advised to take umbrellas in case of rain, left them on the bus whilst visiting Ta Prohm. A massive mistake!!! It was clear and sunny until the big black clouds rolled in and spectacular deluge of water plummeted
Beheaded Buddah
This is a common theme throughout the temples as there is very big money to be made on the black market from the sky. The only good thing was that the rain was warm.
We all got soaked through as there was a 10 minute walk back to the bus. What really amazed Gary was that the kids were still trying to sell him postcards while he was walking back - There is a time and a place for this and in the rain isn't it.
Day 2 was a mixture of things - Gary donating blood at a local children's hospital, taking a very long tuk-tuk ride to the land mine museum and the two of us undertaking a Khmer cooking class.
The landmine museum had been set up by a local guy, who has cleared approx 60,000 mines, to bring to attention the problem throughout Cambodia. People and especially children are getting maimed on a daily basis and it really highlights the point. It is a really interesting museum and a beautiful ride in the Cambodian countryside from Siem Reap.
The cooking class was also interesting as we could choose anything off a restaurant menu (one starter and one main) and then cook it and subsequently eat it. It is as simple as that. 4 of us from the
group did this whilst others relaxed after a heavy night clubbing. The only downside is that we had to cook it all before we could eat it so basically we eat it at room temp, which is apparently normal for this part of the world. It was still delicious though.
The time in Siem Reap was great but there was more to see in Cambodia so it was back in the bus for trip to our first sighting of the mighty Mekong river.
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