From Phnom Penh to Siem Reap

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So the start of yet another adventure began with a bang for me in Southeast Asia. This part of the world has wholeheartedly attracted my attention over the past few years and each time I return it brings with it experiences of unknown cultures, un-tasted cuisine, and untapped potential. I waited in anxious anticipation through the long cold winter in Korea for this trip to finally begin and once it did, time flew by quicker than even I had expected. Regardless, it was a 2-week trip that will always hold a special place in my heart as I will not quickly forget the people I met along the way and the journeys I embarked on.

The first stop on my tour was Cambodia; the Angkor Nation. Though outright Third World in it’s infrastructure and economy, this land has far more to offer the world than one from the West might expect. A land synonymous with the atrocities committed by Pol Pot and the Khmer Rouge in the 1970’s, it is an uncommon place for most to think of when pondering tourism. However, these thoughts truly prove false once you amerce yourself in the wonders of the nation itself. The perseverance and friendliness of the Khmer people, coupled with the unique foods and snacks offered throughout this land make it a must see for anyone who wishes to truly experience SE Asia. Above all else, the natural beauty and wonder that is so often overlooked in Third World countries is ever present wherever you gaze in Cambodia.

Let The Games Begin

Throughout the course of my 2 week adventure, I did not travel alone. My friend Brad accompanied me from start to finish on the journey sharing with me all the food, drinks, and experiences one could possibly fit into this short window of time. Also along the way, my friends Marc and Lora crossed paths with us in Cambodia and then again in Malaysia. It made the trip all the more memorable to have some friends to share it with.

To begin the trip, we met up with our friends Sessions and Nicole at Incheon Airport as they waited for their flight off to Indonesia. As is usually the case with my friends here, we celebrated the occasion with a few Cass beers in the airport lobby and said our farewells before parting ways to our separate gates. After our 7 hr flight from Seoul to Malaysia, and connecting 2 hour flight to Cambodia, Brad and I touched down in Phnom Penh, the capital city of Cambodia.

Our first move, and first mistake, was to cash in some of our good ole USD’s for some local tender. Now, most countries on this beautiful planet have their own national currency, Korea has the Won, England, the pound; India, the Dinar, and so on and so forth. These countries have a currency with distinct features of national landmarks, historical events, or leading figures. Another slight detail about the various forms of currency across the globe is… well… it is accepted when purchasing commodities within that sovereign state. Cambodia has the Riel. While inflated a bit with 4,000 Riel equaling a single USD, the bills feature eloquent depictions of the king on the front, and Angkor Wat on the back. It is everything you might expect it to be except for one minor detail… it is rarely accepted willingly as legal tender. That’s right folks, the country’s own currency is frequently refused, and if accepted, almost always with a grudging sneer from the cashier. Almost all prices for items are listed in dollars. Brad and I were unaware of this at the airport and were quick to exchange 250 dollars into the underappreciated Riel. It would prove to make buying anything within Cambodia a challenge in itself. On a side note, I now have about 20 dollars in Riel for life since NO money exchange location in anywhere BUT Cambodia has them. So thanks for the souvenir Cambodian Treasury Department.

The first person we met on our trip was…. Well… Brad and I just called him “Deadweight” since that’s all he really was and I don’t think we ever did get his name. Born on some higher plane than the rest of us mere mortals Deadweight seemed to know everything about everything and had a pretentious saying to go along with any story or comment we chose to make. We met him as we were meeting our driver who was picking us up from the airport to take us to our hostel and he tagged along for a trip into town.

A word about the rules of the road in Cambodia; there are none. Cars, buses, trucks, tuk-tuk’s, motorbikes, and pedestrians pretty much do whatever they want driving on the streets. In all of Phnom Penh, the CAPITAL CITY of Cambodia, I saw but two actual traffic lights… two! Drivers frequently swerve into oncoming traffic in order to make turns or enter the roadway, as ours did upon leaving the airport. And when I say “roadway” it is truly giving too much credit to the streets. Lanes are nonexistent and there is practically no way to tell where the divide is between oncoming and proceeding traffic… it’s madness I tell you. Better than a trip to Six Flags if you ask me; every turn is a roller coaster and I loved every minute of it. It helped that I at least had the mad dash of traffic to keep me amused while our cab driver babbled incoherently and Deadweight kept talking about how much better India was than Cambodia.

Finally, after nearly clipping two pedestrians and an oncoming truck carrying livestock, we arrived at “Me Mates Place” hostel. It was everything you expect from a hostel really, 4 walls, a bathroom and 2 beds; nothing too fancy but for the low price of about 9 bucks a night, who can complain? The first step we took to ensure a full day worth sightseeing is one Bradley and I often take: beers, Angkor beer to be exact. While in America Budweiser, Coors, and Michelob signs often mark the local watering holes around town, in Cambodia, it’s all Angkor. Compared to Korean Casse, Hite, and Max, I gotta admit that it isn’t half bad at all. We gulped down our first few cold ones despite a few laughs from the bar staff (to be fair it was 10am but come on… we were on vacation) and trudged out to see some sights.

Brick Throwing, Genocide, and 45 Cent Beer

Phnom, Penh is not a particularly attractive city by any means. While it is average size in area compared to most other cities, few buildings reach the sixth floor. The streets are not very well kept up and there are random piles of garbage everywhere you look. To add to this “natural beauty” it was wonderful for my eyes to behold a man relieving himself on a wall in the middle of the downtown rotary directly across from a woman bathing her naked child in the sprinkler next to the river park. Gotta love the view!

During our stay, we spent most of our time walking up and down the famous Riverside Road that ran (go figure) beside the Mekong River. It was a very touristy area filled with backpackers, old vets hanging out in front of pubs with a few cold ones, restaurants, and various tourism offices. The one thing I had read about this road before visiting was… and this is a direct quote from WikiTravel: “According to The Phnom Penh Post there has been a string of unprovoked brick attacks on foreigners along Riverside in 2010. The brick is generally aimed at the head, and is thrown from a moving SUV. The Post reports eight injuries to date, though the toll may be higher.” . Needless to say, we were watchful and suspect of all SUV’s that passed us by. I don’t know about you but my idea of a good vacation doesn’t begin with cinder blocks to the face.

Since our entire trip was based on the premise of not having a real plan and just sort of wandering around the country, that is exactly what we did. Now I have spent a lot of time in Bangkok and have had many experiences dealing with various tuk-tuk drivers and vendors attempting to sell their services. Cambodia dwarfs the beggars and hagglers of Bangkok by a long shot. The tuk-tuk drivers followed us for hundreds of yards repeating the same phrase over and over “tuk-tuk sir?” or “sir where you go?” and my personal favorite “very special price for you sir.” It begins to wear on you after a mile or so, but one can easily get used to this slight annoyance and it often at least spices up walking in the more boring areas. By the end of the trip, I found it amusing to try and sell the drivers my services by responding to their questions with “tuk-tuk? Come on I give you a good price man, very special deal.” Needless to say, I accrued no business through my many attempts.

So we walked on through the heat of the day and visited the royal palace which was about 2 miles from our hostel. We entered into the lavish Khmer style building and walked around snapping off some photos and taking in the view. To tell you the truth, after spending so much time in Thailand, I have begun to grow weary of visiting so many temples but I suppose it’s always good to see some of the local architecture no matter how familiar it may seem.

After taking pictures of the royal palace and the grounds, we moved back to the street where a tuk-tuk driver hassled us for close to a mile before we finally gave in. He offered to take us out to the Tuol Sleng Genocide Museum, also known as S-21 Prison. This was what I was looking forward to most of all in Phnom Penh prior to our arrival. In graduate school, I studied the reign of Pol Pot and the atrocities committed under the Khmer Rogue and I was anxious to see some of the history before my eyes. What I got was much more than I bargained for.

At first glance, it doesn’t seem like such an awful place especially if you don’t really know the history of what actually happened here. After all, it once was a school so how bad could it be? It didn’t take long though for an eerily feeling to overtake me as I walked the grounds towards cell block A. In front of the prison block are 14 graves that stand as a testament to the some 17,000 prisoners tortured within the compound, most of which were killed on sight or were sent off to the Killing Fields a few miles outside the city. In the center lies a curious looking overhang that was used to string up prisoners bound by their arms after which they were repeatedly dunked into hot water. The full force of S-21 was felt once I walked through the cell block. Once classrooms for high school students, the rooms were used to interrogated academics, doctors, teachers, lawyers, and anyone who opposed the Democratic Kampuchea. Most of the rooms had crude metal box springs with torture devises laid on top for display. Also in each room hung a picture taken of some of the victims after they had been tortured. It really brought forth some powerful emotions as I walked through and observed the madness that happened there long ago. From some of the world’s first water boarding tables, to electric chairs, S-21 proved to be a place of great evil that really brought my studies to life. After leaving, Brad and I were both pretty much drained and lost for words as we headed back to our hostel along the Riverside.

Once the experience passed us by, we started getting ready for our first night out. Off we went to prowl the streets of Phnom Penh trying to find whatever trouble might come our way. Most of our friends in Korea were outright scared for Brad and I on our long journey. Most felt we would be arrested breaking some archaic law and ending up in a prison system that requires the accused family to provide food during their stay. Others went so far as to believe we would straight up die. Needless to say, we were terrified both of ourselves and our influence on each other as we indulged in various beverages on our travels. So off we went. We moved slowly from bar to bar just sort of staying around the tourist areas and talking to a few locals. We did make one exceptional drunken purchase at one of the night stands while moving along drunkenly: Calvin Klein watches for the low low price of $3. While my watch proceeded to corrode and eventually break a day later, Brad’s watch would sporadically work and provide time whenever needed for the rest of our adventure. It was a fine business move indeed.

Once the booze started to hit though, we got braver and wandered a bit deeper into the pits of the city. In the end, we ended up at some strange outdoor pagoda in the city center, or maybe the city’s outskirts; honestly, I doubt either of us will ever know. We were by far the only Westerners for a solid 1/2 kilometer in any direction and so, it was time to drink with the locals. Sitting down, the most magnificent menu unfolded before our eyes: Angkor pitchers for… wait for it… a dollar fifty! It was Valhalla on Earth as we drank the rest of the night away spending little more than 5 dollars apiece. After drinking our fill (aka enough to knock out an African hippo) I dragged Brad through the early morning streets in search of… Kebab. I swear to this day I had earlier seen a 24 hour shop on the Riverside, but our search was in vain and with a heavy heart, we settled for guesthouse (hostel) food near our place. We incoherently babbled with the American (?) owner for a bit while gorging out on some chicken and headed back home for some much needed rest… after all we had been awake for almost 48 hours at that point.

Our sleep was all too short as we needed to wake up early and catch a 10:00 bus to Siem Reap. With weary eyes and smug faces, we packed our things, showered, and stumbled back out into the morning city heat. Almost immediately, we were both sweating through our shirts as we slowly moved onward. Before getting on the bus, we made out way to Wat Phnom to get at least one more attraction in before leaving. However, once we saw the sign charging foreigners a dollar, we snapped a photo and moved on. That’s right, at the cost of a single dollar; we were deterred from experiencing further local history. Phnom Penh you can keep your Wat’s and Temples but you’ll never take… my 4 Riel!

The Golden Road to Siem Reap

So it was that we made our way to the bus station and got onto our bus bound north for Siem Reap… and what a bus it was. Deceivingly named a “VIP” bus, it had little leg room for a 6’3” dashing young American to sit comfortably for the expected six hour ride. Still, we were able to squeeze in and get slightly comfortable for the journey. There was, however, a battle which quickly ensued. The Cambodian man in front of me frequently attempted (in vain) to recline his seat essentially throwing my kneecaps into the grinder. I held the line strong and true though and pushed up hard for 6 hours, deflecting his attack as he desperately attempted the impossible. Though most may find this annoying, I actually found the “War of Reclination” to be fun; at least it gave me something to do.

Now, the road to Siem Reap was a sight to see in and of itself. Where most interstate highways throughout the world have dividers separating Northbound and Southbound traffic, highway #6 through the Cambodian countryside did not. In fact, there was not even a dividing yellow line! To top off that madness, the road was pretty much one lane. Now I am not talking about one lane for Northbound and one lane for Southbound… I mean one lane for each… to share! It was terrifying as the bus frequently jerked hard right onto the unpaved shoulder to avoid oncoming traffic. Our “near death experience” total must have tripled within the first three hours alone as we nearly missed many trucks, busses, and cars along the way. The driver pretty much held the horn down the entire way as if it would serve to part the oncoming traffic and slow motorbikes on the side like the Red Sea. This of course made sleep impossible.

Another thing made sleep impossible as well. Not the jerking of the bus, the battle with my arch nemesis in front of me, or even the constant scream of the VIP horn… but the entertainment on screen. The bus played a few movies while we travelled north, all of which were in Cambodian, none of which were subtitled. Still, Brad and I found them oddly amusing watching soap opera stars operate in bamboo huts eating rice and stick meat rather than the Hollywood Hills or on Park Avenue indulging in lobster and steak. Before long, we were even admitting to like some of the characters and identified who the good and bad guys were. Hopefully one day… I can find the DVD.

The countryside itself was completely and utterly beautiful. Rice fields as far as the eye could see filled the landscape until they reached the tall lush mountains off in the distance. Think what you will about Cambodia, but I tell you that it really has some of the best natural beauty I have yet seen. To go along with the nature, there was an inescapable view of the true Third World status of the country as we drove on. Dust covered huts, muddy children, beggars, and unimaginable circumstances plagued the roadside as I peered out the window. I looked on and realized how lucky I was.

We finally arrived in Siem Reap after the long journey and caught a tuk-tuk to our hostel. Driving through town, it was clear to see that this was a smaller city than Phnom Penh, but it somehow seemed more developed and industrialized. There were no tall buildings or shopping malls, it was just cleaner and the rules of the road seemed to be at least slightly observed as we drove through town. We turned off the paved road and down a few small dirt paths before arriving at the “Happy Guest House.”

Care for Some Kangaroo?

The hostel was great and had a small bar outside beneath some palm trees and a bamboo pagoda. It was surrounded by others very similar to it and so there was not a lack of Westerners about on the streets. Our driver was quick to ask us what else we wanted to do and seemed put off when we informed him we were going to be walking a bit. Still, this guy kept on us all trip long trying to give us rides; more on that latter.

We walked a bit along the river that ran through town and tried to get a feel for our area. The small river that ran alongside one of the side streets was decorated beautifully and very well maintained, especially by Cambodian standards. I began my quest for sandals that would actually fit since my shoes were becoming quite dirty on the dusty roads. Unfortunately, Asians don’t have yacht-like feet as I carry and so my search came up empty. Not long after leaving, we headed back towards our hostel just as our friends from Korea, Marc and Lora, pulled up in their tuk-tuk to join us for some fun. It was good to see some familiar faces so far away and we set off back to the hostel to grab a few beers before heading out for the night… hey… at least it was afternoon this time when we started drinking.

Before long our persistent tuk-tuk driver (you know what… I’m just gonna start calling him Geeves cuz I have always wanted a butler and I can’t for the life of me remember this guy’s name) convinced us to go out to dinner. He dropped us off at some fancy buffet that wanted $12 a plate. Granted it was all you can eat but we weren’t paying that kind of coin for a meal we could easily get for a buck (gotta love SE Asian prices… really spoils you sometimes). So we walked up the street and stopped on the side of the road at a table in front of a much more authentic and “local style” kind of place. For dinner I had traditional Cambodian Lok Lak. Essentially, it is spiced beef with rice served with soup, and it had a very unique flavor to it that was my first real experience with Khmer food. It was delicious and went well with a few cold Angkor brews.

After dinner, we proceeded down the way to the Angkor Night Market. Like most markets I have visited in Thailand before, it was massive and had everything from fake (or stolen) watched to clothes and paintings. Before even getting a few feet into the market, we were enticed to try out a fish spa outside that offered 30 minutes and a free beer for the low price of $2. How can you pass that up! A fish spa (otherwise known as Dr. Fish) is a tank of small fish that one dunks there legs in up to their ankles. Once submerged the fish eat the dead skin from the bottom of your feet and between your toes. It tickles something wicked and made me cringe with uncontrollable laughter as I drank my beer and sat talking with my friends. Afterwards, my feet felt smoother and cleaner than ever… surely worth the two bucks we parted with.

For the next hour or so we walked on through the market, haggling with various vendors for souvenirs and clothing. My famous first price offer for everything from watches to intricate paintings became, “I’ll give you a dollar.” Always good to start low I suppose and after the vendor got over the initial shock of such a low offer, the haggling could begin. I never was very good at the art of haggling, but on this trip I felt like the Dad from A Christmas Story “the old man loved bargaining as much as an Arab trader, and he was twice as shrewd.” I bought myself a goofy looking fedora that Marc claimed to make me look like “a fun guy” which I was all about. I wore it the rest of the trip until loosing it in a tubing accident on the Mekong. But that’s an entirely different story altogether.

From there we proceeded to Pub Street and sat at a wonderful bar that became our spot over the next few nights. The main reason as that they served 50 cent draft beers and buy one get one free cocktails at $2.50. What a wonderful country. Pub Street is a small street filled with high end jewelry, departments stores and…. Oh come on people… it’s a street of bars if I really needed to describe it to you! Still, it was one of my favorite spots on the trip as the drinks were cheap, the scenery was ever changing, and it was just an all around fun place to hang out.

To close the night, we stopped at a stall for some late night food before heading home. There, Marc and Lora made compelling arguments (Marc is my lawyer after all) that convinced Brad and I to remain in Siem Reap for another night. I had some delicious red curry to cure my beer munchies and after gulping down one final beer, it was off home and to bed.

The next day we woke up to Marc knocking at the door of our room. Apparently, the 70 cent alarm clock we bought was faulty and got stuck at 5:30am leading us to oversleep by about an hour. Though it failed us once, 60% of the time it worked every time. We dressed quick and hit the streets to see some more of Siem Reap.

That day, we walked and walked up and down the various streets of the city taking pictures and talking about how much we loved Cambodia. From beautiful pagodas to parks we were able to see the beauty of Siem Reap in a single day. We also ventured a bit north off the beaten path to the “real” Siem Reap and saw what the locals called their home city. Here, there was no trash cleanup or lights and decorations on the streets. Sewage ran green down the river from the bamboo shacks that littered the bank. We also wandered into a primary school and took in some sights of the local children heading off to their one room, hot and humid classrooms amidst a vast lot of sand and dust. It was most certainly unlike my elementary school in every way possible. We ate some pizza () for lunch and headed back to the hostel to catch a pre-booked ride with Geeves to see Angkor Wat at sunset.

Once at the hostel, Geeves was nowhere to be found so we had to settle with one of the other 5 tuk-tuk drivers who apparently just sit outside waiting for customers all day. We hopped into the tuk-tuk and headed towards the temple. Here is where confusion set in big time. See, Geeves spoke English. He explained we were going to a mountain top to view the sunset over the famous Angkor Wat a bit outside the city. This driver (let’s call him Walter) spoke no English whatsoever and my Cambodian just isn’t what it used to be back when I studied it intently in kindergarten. He drove us up to a ticket counter to buy tickets, something we were never told was involved in the process at all. We tried to explain what we wanted but all he could get out was “buy ticket” and “ticket” and my favorite, “ticket… you buy.” Many times over we informed him we wanted to go to a mountain and not into the temple itself but it just didn’t land. It took us about 5 minutes to get Walter to turn around and bring us back home. I’ve never been more confused and frustrated than in those moments riding around with dear old Walter the tuk-tuk driver. Later, we would come to find out that he did take us to the right place and we were purchasing tickets to get to the mountain. The tickets could then be used the next day to enter the temple, which we were doing regardless. If only Geeves had been there to save the day.

Back to our bar we travelled to Pub Street and had a few drinks before dinner. While sipping on my disgusting “Ak-47” (which proved to be a terrible mix of bourbon whiskey, brandy, cointreau, gin, lime, rum, vodka, and whiskey… just a terrible decision all around… seriously; never order one) calls came from the street in our direction. It was Geeves! The sprightly little guy had been driving around for hours trying to find us after Walter took us away to certain doom! We could not believe in all of Siem Reap, Geeves located us to apologize and then… set up an appointment to take us to the temple the next day. Poor guy just missed us when we left and here he was most likely blowing his entire days salary on gas alone trying to find his lost customers. God bless him.

Dinner became an experience in itself. Rather than going for the more common meats one may indulge in for a fine meal such as chicken, beef, or if you’re really risky, pork; we opted for crocodile, snake, ostrich, and my personal favorite from the land down under… kangaroo. The snake was… a bit rubbery. The crocodile sort of fell apart in my mouth. But the ostrich and kangaroo were fantastic; who would have thought! From now on when I visit the zoo, I feel the ostrich and kangaroo will gaze upon me in fear knowing that I have it… the thirst for their flesh. Fear me they will (I don’t really know why I chose to talk like Yoda there but I’m keeping it)!

The Beauty at Angkor Wat

The next day, we successfully were awoken by the alarm clock at 4:30am. It was dreadful pulling myself out of bed and getting ready for the day, but seeing the sunrise of Angkor Wat would hopefully prove worth it. We walked out into the blackness of early morning and towards Geeves who… wasn’t there! Again Geeves missed out on his chance for some cash by not showing up to give Brad and I a ride to the temple! We weren’t about to wait around for him, so we hopped on board with a new driver (hmm… let’s go with Ringo) and sped off towards the temple. It was about a 30 minute ride outside of town to get there and the morning proved much colder than I expected, especially since Ringo apparently was practicing for tuk-tuk NASCAR and had be the first one to the gate.

We bought our tickets and Ringo said he would wait for us while we visited the temple. Marc and Lora were waiting for us at the gate and we walked into the blackness across the long bridge over the Angkor Wat moat. We waited and watched the sunrise beautifully over the ancient temple and spent the next hour exploring the various chambers that filled the largest religious building on planet Earth; truly a remarkable and awe aspiring wonder to behold. The temple is the symbol of Cambodia, appearing on its currency and even the national flag. It was built in the early 12th century for the King and was first dedicated to the Hindu God Vishnu and then made into a Buddhist Wat. Seeing it in pictures does it little justice and I highly recommend everyone to travel and marvel at its beauty at least once in their lives. We walked around the outer walls of the temple snapping pictures, feeding monkeys, and reading various tidbits of historical info before heading back to the entrance for breakfast. Here, we split off from Marc and Lora who went about an hour away to see another temple while we continued to tour of the Angkor complex. Ringo stayed with us the whole time, stopping at various temple sights, giving us some information, and waiting for us while we explored “Indiana Jones Style” all the ruins in the complex. While I would love to describe in detail the intricacies of the complex, there is too much to tell and honestly, if you don’t visit it yourself… just read the Wikipedia article ya bums!

Of particular beauty were the stone heads at Bayon, and the narrow corridors that wove in between the ancient structure. Ta Prohm was my favorite of all the sights we saw. This sight is different then all the other ruins in that it has been preserved exactly as it was found in the early 1900’s. The jungle has almost fully overtaken the ruins of this ancient city making it all the more beautiful to bear witness to. The oddly shaped, almost mystic roots of towering trees wrap around the ruins in ways that are indescribable. Hopefully my pictures do them some justice, but here, Brad and I felt what the first explorers must have upon finding these ruins more than a century ago.

Next, we climbed the steep stairs of Ta Keo. It was a difficult ascent, but worth the view at the top where we relaxed and had some water while gazing on some of the magnificent ruins around us. It dawned on us then that Ringo was a popular guy! At each of the stops where he waited for us, he seemed to know every other one of the drivers. He was a big shot, the ring leader if you will… king of the tuk-tuk drivers… lord of the rickshaw… behold: Ringo the Great. Yet underneath his guise, lay a thief! While walking around the Terrace of the Leper King, Brad bought a bundle of bananas for about 30 cents (there was no needs to bargain that down further I suppose) in hopes of finding more monkeys to feed. Alas, we never saw another monkey since the main temple in the morning, so we decided to eat them ourselves. In his generosity, Brad offered Ringo a banana when we got out to climb up Ta Keo which he graciously accepted. Now when we left, there were 5 bananas left on the seat of the tuk-tuk. However, upon our return… 2 remained. Theif! Ringo, thought you are both patient and popular, you sir are a banana bandit, a kleptomaniac of delicious potassium enriched exotic fruits and for that… I can never forgive you sir.

Our last stop was the temple of Banteay Kdei. We sort of rushed through looking at the ruins as it was the heat of the day and we were weary from walking for so long. Crossing back over the road, we walked towards the beautiful lake at Sras Srang. On our way, we were flanked by children in all directions asking us to buy things! There was no escaping the swarms that encircled us yet somehow we beat back the wave and made it to safe havens beyond the roads edge. There, two young girls walked with Brad and me for 50 yards trying to sell us things from their shop. Politely time and time again we refused yet they would not take no for an answer. They went so far as to force bracelets onto our arm that they said were free even though we resisted harshly. They parted ways as we climbed up to rest and take pictures of the lake, but were on us again once we came down to walk back towards Ringo. In the end, they resorted to heckling. “You are not a man at all. You don’t buys anything, not even look? You are both gay... not man!” It was demeaning yet Brad and I laughed it off and returned to our plundering driver. He took us home and when all was said and done, for a full days work, it only cost us 15 dollars for Ringo’s services. A whole day of waiting and driving around a couple American guys for 15 bucks! We let him keep the last bananas.

To the Border

That night was our last in Cambodia. Marc and Lora met us on Pub Street at a famous bar called Angkor What? and we had a few Mekong Coke’s (for one dollar… booo yea!) while talking about our day at the temple. It was a great day for which I felt I was able to get some culture in during a trip I thought was going to be filled primarily with bad decisions and drunken antics.

For my final meal in the Khmer Nation, I had Amok. Amok is a type of catfish steamed in a coconut based white curry. It’s very thick and has a uniquely distinct flavor that I loved most of all the Khmer cuisine I had sampled yet. Hey… hey… you think if the waiter who came out to bring me my food started to jog toward me with it he’d be… running amok? Hehe… get it? All right bad joke but I honestly couldn’t help myself.

That night we spent sipping a few drinks back at our favorite spot and then headed home early. The next day we had to wake up at 8 to catch a taxi to the Cambodia/Thai border at the city of Poipet. We packed all of our souvenirs in the hostel and I quickly drifted off into sleep thinking of all the amazing things I had already done. But we were just getting started.

Cambodia proved to live up to all the hype I have heard over the past two years. The natural beauty, friendly Khmer people, amazing food, and indescribable ancient temples quite literally took my breath away. I was overjoyed to have the opportunity to visit this country, especially having missed such opportunities living in SE Asia in the past. To all those who would travel within reasonable distance, this nation is a must see. The history and architecture alone are enough to take your breath away and it is easily understandable why so many ex-pats tend to visit with intentions of staying a week, but ending up spending a lifetime. For a nation torn apart by external wars and internal oppression, the perseverance of the Cambodian nation and the Khmer people are enough to inspire any wayward traveler upon their visit here. Carpe Vita!

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