Siem Reap Cambodia

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Hi all,

I'm going to make this a short one for the simple reason that we are moving so much at the moment that I will never have time to get everything down.

So After Luang Prabang we took a flight (Etta booked us business class which was a drastic change from government buses in India) to Siem Reap. I had already been to Siem Reap before but was excited to see all the temples again as last time we were here it was only for a day which was far to short.

We arrived at our hotel which was the same one I had stayed at with my family. It is such a beautiful hotel consisting of luxury huts arranged around reflecting ponds and gardens... Truly magnificent.

So I’m going to keep the bit about the temples brief, although they obviously took up most of our time. Suffice it to say that they are breathtaking (yes I know I use this word a lot). We woke up at 4:30 in the morning to see the sun rise over Angkor Wat temple which was a very special experience. We had a great guide who explained all the history to us which was a much welcomed refresher course for me. A photo tells a thousand words so here are a few of the temples for you all to see.

Aside from going to the temples we did a few things which I hadn’t done on the last trip. The first was to go to the vast lake of Tonle Sap. This lake was and is a huge resource (fish and water). We were driven to the lake through the villages along the bumpy roads to Tonle Sap. On arrival we boarded a small boat and headed down a river which led to the lake. At first I was wondering why anyone would chose to go on this lake tour. The water was brown and murky and smelt awful (Tamara and I were calling it Tonle Crap). Upon reaching the lake I immediately realized the appeal of the trip. As you can see from the photos, the lake is littered with floating houses of fishermen and their families. There is an entire city living on this lake! It is an extremely impressive site to see. As we navigated through the water the vastness of this village became more and more apparent. The reason for this huge fishing community is down to the 10 tons of fish per square kilometer!

The other thing that we did that I had not done on my previous trip was extremely interesting, shocking, upsetting, uplifting and rewarding. We had been told about a cello concert held by a Swiss doctor (Dr Beat Richner for the Swissies who may know him) for the benefit of hospitals which he runs in Cambodia. We decided it would be a nice thing to do and attended. The music was very nice but the doctor’s words were what really touched us all. He explained the urgent and drastic health situation in Cambodia. He explained that the current medical crises occurring in Cambodia with special reference to the huge Tuberculosis epidemic. We were urged to give donations which we did.

The following day Tamara and I decided to go back to the hospital where we donated blood which was a very rewarding experience. They gave us some biscuits after as well as a T-shirt. On leaving the hospital Tamara and I gave our biscuits to the children waiting outside to the Hospital. Seeing the lines of children, hearing about the drastic poverty and health problems in Cambodia and the extremely sad history of this country really makes you appreciate how extremely fortunate we all are.

If you are interested in learning more about this foundation or wish to donate to this very worthwhile cause you can visit the website at www.beatocello.com

Anyways that’s about it for Siem Reap, Angkor Wat and Cambodia....

Until next time miss you all and send you all the best

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