Cambodia - Siem Reap - The mighty temple of Angkor Wat and an unwelcome sneaky hand during a massage!!

---

Cambodia – Siem Reap – The mighty temple of Angkor Wat and an unwelcome sneaky hand during a massage!!

With my last night in Bangkok completed and my goodbyes said to Maam and Gav I got ready to get the bus to Siem Reap. Everything was really easy, I already had an e-visa organised a few weeks before hand and the bus journey, although a little tight on space was pretty painless. We stopped just short of the border for food and this is when the sales pitch commenced and the attitude of some of the staff took a slight u-turn. Because I already had my visa I was not a prime target for the sales team and my lovely orange square sticker I had to wear told them this, the cost of my visa was $25 and to get it sorted by our bus company was $40 so pretty much double, otherwise you would have to join a long and potentially very corrupt queue at the actual crossing so the choices weren’t great. As a part of my package I had a bus included for the three hour journey to Siem Reap once across the border but again this is where the story changed somewhat. At the sales office you are told it’s only three hours on a comfortable bus but at the border it’s suddenly six hours on a public bus and the bus will not leave for at least two hours after you cross. However they kindly inform you that taxi services are great and they are doing a “special” price, what a coincidence. Well I checked the trusty lonely planet and the recommended price for a taxi was half what they were suggesting so I offered them the chance to review my trusty guide but they seemed uninterested, I can’t think why??? Along with several of my fellow travellers we just declined their offers and at this point we were basically ignored and left to sort out our own way across the border, happy days! In the end we crossed without any issues and I ended up sharing a taxi with a lovely French couple at the price suggested in the lonely planet, so if you are going and you get fed all this c*ap just ignore it and sort everything out once you have crossed the border it’s really very simple.

OK on to better things, on arrival at Siem Reap I had got lucky again and checked into another brilliant hostel with a very creative name called The Siem Reap Hostel, as you will see from the photos the bar and pool area for a hostel were incredible and the rooms were big with nice comfy beds that I could actually fit in without my feet hanging off the end, so all in all a great hostel and a very comfortable stay.

Apart from the obvious draw of Angkor Wat Siem Reap is a fast developing area and pretty much geared towards tourism. I’m by no means complaining because I had a great time here but I did feel like I could be pretty much anywhere in Asia whilst hanging out in the centre of the city. But thankfully once you got about 3Km’s out of town there was a lot more of the real Cambodia to be seen. It’s great just walking down dirt track roads, passing people’s homes that are nothing more than tin shacks and they just look at you as if to say “yep another lost tourist” and smile politely at you. I just couldn’t believe how contented they all seemed with nothing more than a hammock and a radio, or if they were lucky a TV to pass the time with. The simple things in life I guess can bring great pleasure and I’ve been reminded of that so many times on this trip.

The main reason for coming here was to see Angkor Wat, as you will know from previous blogs my love of temples has dwindle somewhat of late so I’m hoping Angkor Wat will change my status on this one.

Without doubt my status was changed, as I approached Angkor Wat by tuk tuk driving around the immense lake that surround it I was left in a state of bewilderment about the size and scale of the place, it felt like I was driving around the perimeter forever. After finally reaching the drop off point what stood before me took my breath away. It’s difficult to put into words how incredible Angkor Wat is and my photos will hopefully do considerably more justice than my words could ever manage. However my overriding memory of Angkor is hundreds of questions in my mind and most of them beginning with “why or how” and the best part is that I and millions of others will probably never get to establish the answers to these questions, I guess that’s a big part of the mystery that surrounds it and makes it so special.

Although Angkor Wat is the temple everyone knows and talks about my personal favourite was Ta Prohm (some of you may know this from the movie Tomb Raider) and closely followed by Bayon Tower. The only reason I can think of for this is that they had undergone considerably less renovation and looked as if they had only been evacuated a few months ago in some cases, which made visiting seem even more magical. Angkor Wat is a real must do/see for anyone visiting Cambodia it’s truly spectacular and something to behold.

Well after my quite exhausting day trekking up and down all the temples and ruins I treated myself to a $3 massage, all was going well until the guy clearly thought I was after extras and put his hand a little too close for comfort to my manhood. I swiftly side swiped his hand and informed him I did not require any assistance in that area honestly first a lady boy in Bangkok and now this! It made the rest of the massage a little awkward but I thought no harm done and I’ve paid my $3 so I want to get the full hour ha ha. Sometimes I really should cut my losses!

In total I spent four days in Siem Reap, there is no doubt that you could make a flying visit here and just see Angkor Wat but it was such an easy place to pass time in that it simply flew by. Whilst here I explored the town and surrounding areas by foot, visited the national museum, went to most of the markets, sampled many local dishes, chatted to the locals and enjoy the comfort of the hostel, it was a great four days and a good way to detox after the previous week in Thailand and a real pleasure to be spoilt by the tremendous sights of Angkor Wat.

Next stop Phnom Penh for the doom and gloom of the S-21 genocide museum and the killing fields and who knows maybe a little bit of rocket launcher firing at a cow…….until the next update!

---

Photos

Siem Reap - Welcome to Cambodia
Me at the border crossing

Siem Reap - The pool at the hostel
Not bad for £5 a night

Siem Reap - The amazing cinema
I decided to take in the Vue (some of you will get this) of Angkor Wat at the cinema

Siem Reap - Gas pump for refueling our taxi
H & S anyone??

Siem Reap - The taxi needed to be cleaned mid way
It's so dusty they have to clean the car and air filters mid way on the journey from the border.