Expectation's

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Expectation's! I have travelled enough now to know that expectation's works two way's. If you travel somewhere and have high expectation's you will either be abrubtly disapointed or think alot less of the place due to these expectation's or you will be rewarded and the place live's to your expectation's. However, if you have no expectation's you have everything to gain and nothing to loose except for time and at the end of your journey you will have another story to tell your grandchildren!
I left Thailand 4 days ago and made my way to Cambodia via bus. Everything in Thailand feel's like a scam or your getting ripped off but it is a beautifull place with incredibley beautifull people. I hoped on the bus and could not belive what I was about to encounter. The travel agent told me the bus would leave Bangkok at 7 30am and arrive in Siem Reep at 5pm! The bus to the border was awesome, comfy seat's air condition, life was good! Then we hit the border! We paid for our visa's and where meet by a dodgy looking character who informed us that due to the flood's 2 week's before hand the bus could not reach Siem Reep so we would have to ride in a pick up. I wasn't really too phased about the whole ordeal as I had been aware of the flood's and warned about the scam's tour companie's try and pull. When I saw the pick up though I could not believe my eye's! There was 24 of us on the bus plus 3 cambodian escort's and all our luggage. When they said we where travelling in a pick up truck we all assumed 3 or 4 and an actuall truck. They only had 1 pick up truck and when they say pick up truck they actually mean your average dual cab ute. For 27 of us and all our luggage! We had no option but cram like chopped up sardines and squeeze 19 people into the back 6 in the front and 2 on the roof! It was incredible, I've never seen anyhing like it before! To them this was life, to us forigner's we could not fathom what was about to take place. Instead of a 4 hour journey and being in Siem Reep at 5 we arrived in Siem Reep at 11pm mentally and physically exhausted.I voulntered to take one of the worst seat's on the ute ( The tray was down and our luggage tied down on top, then 3 of us sat facing backwards to the cab holding on to anything we could for 10 hour's ). We arrived covered in dust, dirt and sweat. It was a journey I will never forget and one that I have learnt from. It was one of the most surreal expirence's I've had. The group that I was travelling with where amazing people from all over the globe and now peolpe I'll always call friend's and alway's stay in touch with!
I have spent the last 3 days cycling around the Temple's of Ankgor Wat. It was worth every second of the ute ride. The temples were built over a period of 400 hundred year's between the 10th and 14th century. It blew my mind away at the shear size and beauty of these temple's. The amount of time and effort it would have taken to build is just uncomprehendable! My photo's do no justice. In all 3 days I rode nearly 100km's on an old 1980's bike. For me it was the best way to truly appreciate these temple's. Every individual temple had it's own story and uniqueness on why it was built and for what it represented.
Im heading down to Phnom Penh tomorrow morning by scooter ( I have my own driver, a 21 year old cambodian named nith ) where i'll be for 2 days before heading to Vietnam for a month on my Gecko's tour.
Im really enjoying my trip as every day has another advenure in store. The cambodian people are friendly, happy and kind despite their horific history. Im really looking forward to getting to Vietnam and travelling from Saigon to Hanoi.
Hope all is well,
Tim

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Photos

Precious Chang beer
This was Sam's influence

Big Hole
This section was called the big hole, We had to walk roughly 750 metre's throught this section it's deepest point being waist high!

After the 10 hour journey
I was covered head to toe in this red bull dust

Inside Ankgor Wat
These carving's filled every wall of the main temple Ankgor Wat appox. 1 square km.

Comments

[Michael]

OMG!
That's extraodinary. What a ride. I can't believe you survived 10 minutes, let alone 10 hours! Great story. Can't wait to read the next chapter. Safe travelling.

[Dave]

comace sux
Glad your haven a great time. Arnt those foriegn travellen hippys a cool bunch of people. Good news Andy has finaly left and Russ told Paul to get his act together. Lots of fireworks !!! Keep rambling you lucky Bugger . from the workers at comace. (Dave,Kai and Mario)