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sawatdi ka peoples...
since the last post I have been to Siem Riep, the city in cambodia closest to angkor wat.... considered possibly some of the most amazing ancient temples in the world by some.
the journey began from bangkok (yet again), with a pretty nice a/c bus, that was not full (which in thailand, means that you are leaving the beaten path a little, usually the busses are pretty full or they dont go anywhere). There were about 15 of us in total... Larent from paris, Tam from china, Peekaboo (real name is Wararat) from thailand, Miguel from south africa and alex from germany to name a few who became my travel companions for the next few days. at about 1:00, we ended up at the cambodian boarder crossing at Poi Pet. Cambodian boarder crossing is sketchy. the place looks like a garbage dump, crap everywhere, debris, people, massive trucks carrying loads bigger than the trucks themselves... more people, lots of poverty etc.
our guide (basically the guy on the bus that speaks english and holds the key to all information) informed us that we must keep our eyes on him and follow him, as the process can be very confusing and there are alot of people trying to get your money. so i did what i was told - made it through with a couple minor scrapes and one pretty intense experience.
AFter clearing the thai departure area and then the cambodian entry area... (still pondering the fact that NO ONE CHECKS ANY BAGGAGE OMG) i walked through the gate. first sight was a little girl, in scant clothing that was discustingly dirty, barefooted and just ridden with poverty... that hit pretty hard, but worse, she was carrying an infant, couldnt have been more than a month old, maybe less. so of course, I am going to take out money. I did. looked up as I had taken some change out, and saw Tam (from china about 10 feet away shaking his head saying NO, dont do that!)... too late. I was surrounded instantly by about 20 children, all equally as destitute. I had my hand out not realizing it and all these little hands, grabbing and clawing for hte change... i couldnt get my hand back, they even drew blood. It was an experience that I was definately not prepared for at all. still affecting me. Larent came and got me out of the situation because I was pretty stunned by the poverty. Tam explained afterwards that the kids are trained to beg there, which yes, is harsh, but the fact remains that they are still destitute by our standards and they are in bad need of money. He also explained that I can get in alot of trouble by the police for giving money to children.... glad that someone told me that first....
after that we embarked on foot for about 10 minutes to the bus that would take us from poi pet to siam riep. WOW. I had been warned by many that this was quite possibly one of the worst bus rides in Asia... and been heavily advised to fly.. however, the cost of flying one way is quite prohibitive because there is only one airline that flys into siam riep, so stuck with the bus. ahh the bus. what can i say? shitmobile on wheels. it should not be fit to drive PERIOD, let alone transport people in. broken seats, badly, and tires that look like they are made of metal. we clammer in and are off.
the road - imagine the worst unpaved road you have driven on, ruts like maclean creek offroad styles, change the color to very orange and very thin, light dust, times it by 10, and add metal tires. that ride was nuts.... you cant read, write, or really think cause your brain is bouncing around too much... so threw on the discman - (thought that the doors would be fitting) and braced myself. the road itself is only 150kms to siem riep, however the ride is about 7 hours, which explains alot.
needless to say, i enjoyed the experience. the cambodian landscape is very different from thailand. lots of rice fields, very tall palm trees, lush green vegetation, little huts everywhere, livestock, hills (not too many) form a rugged, almost untouche, raw. smells super fresh, not very much pollution, like right after it rains - like soil and sweet campfires (there are little fires that burn all over the place) it was beautiful. I am glad that i didnt fly.
14 hours later, we arrived in siam riep and were greeted by the most gracious cambodian people... they are so friendly, so eager to help and get you comfortable in your surroundings. we checked in at the guest house. siam riep itself is a very pretty city, down the main river, christmas tree lights are all over the trees, perfectly manicured bushes, but also lots of poverty, shacks, garbage, unpaved roads, such contrasts. its also pretty bizarre. there are really no sidewalks, no traffic system except for honking, no real way to drive on the road - just dont hit anyone or another vehicle, and the stuff that they carry on their motorbikes OMG you wouldnt even believe it... poles that are like 15 feet long. baskets with PIGS in them, yes more than one pig... its really strange.
the locals were telling us that over the past few years, an insane amount of 5 star hotels have sprung up, and the process is still going on - as angkor wat is a huge tourism grab. i thought that malaysia/thailand had a big contrast between rich and poor, but nothing compared to cambodia. we went out to one of the main streets for a bite to eat (at a place called the funky buddha).. and as soon as we got out of the tuk tuk, we were surrounded again, by barefoot children begging for money. (who by the way are the cutest children I have ever seen). the poverty is very bad here. it is not out of the ordinary to see a person missing a limb either. cambodia has over 1.2 million unexploded landmines scattered around the country.
the next day, we hired our tuk tuk driver and headed out for the long anticipated visit to angkor wat. the girl that I was with Peekaboo, (from thailand), was venturing against her own norm and it was really awesome to spend some time with her. she has lived in thailand all her life, but never travelled the country, let alone to cambodia or any other country. she is 24. all her friends and family were advising her not to go. It is very unusual for a thai woman to travel anywhere she was telling me, let alone by herself. go girl go. back to angkor.
angkor wat. hmmm. words cannot describe it. Collossal is the only thing that comes to mind - but that doesnt even feel right... way to much, grand, stimulating, exciting. i give up. a little info: The temples are spread out over about 40 miles around the village of Siem Reap. They were built between the eighth and 13th centuries, there are multitudes of them... some small and simple and others... vast stone temple complexes. it was extraordinary to see. we visted 3 very massive ones worth mentioning... angkor wat itself the main one, unbelievably massive... , Ta Prohm; has not realy been restored at all and is over taken by jungle... pics are crazy, (this is where they filmed Lara croft tomb raider), and my favorite.. the Bayon temple, which is a maze of tunnel ways, pathways, courtyards, stairs, temple complexes, massive towers with budda faces on all 4 sides of each towers.. really have to show you the pics, cause I am at a loss for how to describe this.
the heat was pretty intense though. stopped for lunch and had the best green curry i have had so far. the kids surround you at lunch too, but these kids are educated. they speak perfect english and they are trying to sell you things. their sense of humour and passion for learning comes out all the time. they joke with you... for example, they say: "HI beautiful lady, where you from" you answer canada, they say... OH Im from Ottawa, or, they say, you speak 2 languages, english and french, capital is ottawa.... so you start asking them questions... these kids could speak basic conversational in quite a few languages... german, (tested by alex), french (tested by laurent), english obviously, japanese, thai, spanish... unbelievable. they attend school 3 hours a day, then spend the rest of the day selling things to tourists. their humour though, and eagerness just to sit and talk with you was contagious. at the end of the day, we climbed to another temple and watched the sunset. great end to a fabulous day.
the bus ride back was braved by laurent and I - again. the rest went on to phnom phen, to the killing fields and the museum. on the way back i met a couple more people - who I hav have spent some time with over the past few days... angela and tad, who have both spent quite a bit of time in cambodia and know about the people and their history. we have had some pretty intense conversations. right now I am reading a book on the children of the killing fields, individual true stories on what happened just 30 years ago - I am compelled to learn more about the people, their history and the 5 years that the khumar rouge ruled and ripped apart their country, killing more than 1.7 million of their own people.
Holy wow sorry pretty deep, but after being there and meeting some of these people, seeing the poverty, learning some of the history, it is something that has affected me quite strongly. cambodia is a place that i WILL visit again, as i have just scratched the surface. this, without a doubt has been the best part of my trip to date. nothing else compares to the experiences that I have had there.
Now, I am back in bangkok, chillin out, reading, writing, exploring. had a pedicure today, kind of nice to feel a little pampered after living out of a backpack. Just ran into Jenn on Khoasan road, who was headed out to Koh Tao. I cant really speak for her experiences, but she is doing awesome, met some cool people and is having a great time as well.
Hope you are all doing fabulous... alas, the trip is coming to an end quite soon, so next post will most likely be after I am home where I will upload all pics and send the link out for you to view.
thanks for all of your comments... it has been great to read them!
S out.
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Tara
non-member comment
Wow
Sarah, I'm loving hearing your stories. Cambodia is one of the few countries in SE I didn't have a chance to explore. You've inspired me to go back to that part of the world again. I miss the contant excitement and exploration. Can't wait to see you when you get back. Happy and safe travels! Tara