Cambodia

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Cambodia turned out to be the highlight of our trip so far. Writing this after being in Vietnam for three weeks hasn’t dulled our enthusiasm for Cambodia, its people, and the great places we visited. While the border crossing itself was easy other than a small bribe to officialdom, our first experience of Cambodia saw hostility we didn’t experience anywhere else. Once we ran the Poipet gauntlet, we went to Battambang, then to Siem Reap and the temples of Angkor, on to outrageous Phnom Penh, then the delightful little beach town of Sihanoukville. At different stages we spent our time with Neil and Donna, on our own or with Ceri and Rachel. We had a lot of fun in these three weeks.

Poipet

The border crossing at Aranya Prathat-Poipet was chosen as an easier alternative than the supposed ‘dodgy’ crossing at Laos that we’d been warned off, as it is a major thoroughfare from Bangkok. Our friend Joe made the Laos-Cambodia crossing easily with a US$2 bribe. Our border officials insisted on US$5. The Aranya Prathat-Poipet border crossing was supposed to be smooth and we did have very little trouble until we entered Cambodia at Poipet itself. Dusty, unsealed roads and about three hundred masked men on bikes watching us greeted our arrival. Having intended on staying the night in Poipet, it was too intimidating; a run down shit hole that you couldn’t get a comfortable night sleep in for fear of your life!
Bandits, gangsters, and cheats; perhaps that’s the best summary of the bastards in Poipet scamming travellers with their intimidation and extortion. It’s not only the skimming border officials, who add their own tax to a visa application, but also the ridiculous cartels that operate in an aggressive and hostile way, intimidating both traveller and semi-honest locals alike.
Granted, we arrived at 4pm, and with no pre-arranged transport, but we found that the buses had stopped and were left with the taxi mafia to negotiate our way out. After two hours of tough talk we had finally agreed on a price to Battambang (US$10 each) and it was dark. Once the driver drove us away from the cartel mafia, he pulled up to a group of men and one of them got in the car. We told him no, that we are paying for the car and after some strong words, and the men demonstrating that they can both fit in the driver’s seat, the man got out. A hair-raising journey in the dark, and in the province we happen to know houses some of the remaining members of the Khmer Rouge. Potholes made it a jolting, bouncing journey that made us laugh with its ridiculousness. (See photo of Neil, Donna, and Andrea!).

Battambang (pronounced Battambong)

Going to Battambang meant that we’d gone further into Cambodia than we’d intended to, making our trip to Siem Reap awkward, but we wanted to be as far away from Poipet as possible. Though having made the trip to Battambang, we decided to stay a few days and look around, as we seemed to be the only travellers in town. It’s a shame in some ways that people very rarely venture out to the west of Cambodia, but it’s also easy to see why they don’t as transport is limited and bumpy (not to mention expensive). It seems that most people only visit Cambodia for Angkor Wat (now made easier by the international airport in Siem Reap). So, we were glad for few days in relative bliss anticipating a package-tourist hell in Siem Reap.
We took a tuk-tuk on a day tour with Donna and Neil and were shown some of the surrounding sights. It was an authentic experience, seeing so many smiling faces and happy children; not to mention everyone shouting ‘hello’ to us.
We went on the bumpy tuk-tuk to Phnom Sampeau hill temple (but didn’t actually see it), the Kampang Pouy dam and the Bamboo railroad. While it was all a bit weak in term of cultural significance, the journey around remote parts of Battambang made it a highlight.
After a few days here, we jumped into a ‘taxi’ to Siem Reap.

Siem Reap and the Temples of Angkor

Siem Reap as a city is nothing special, obviously built up and existing because of the wonders that await nearby, but it has its charms. We stayed at the Red Piano, apparently made famous (like so many things in this area) by Angelina Jolie and Tomb Raider. I haven’t seen the film, but it hasn’t been recommended to me by anyone, even the Khmers and that is saying sumsing, considering the dreadful soap operas and music videos they seem to love.
Ok, Ben dropped that sumsing in there as a lead in. He noticed it first in Siem Reap, then everywhere else as moto driver after moto driver (at night) offered him marijuana, opium, ladies, or sumsing: ‘Hello mista, you want sumsing …’ It really is quite funny without being patronising, because their English is a hell of a lot better than our Khmer, but when every single moto driver or tuk tuk driver stops to ask you if you want sumsing, it gets to be funny, especially when you start to ask them if they want sumsing. They really are a fun people, even when they are trying it on to get you to buy and you’re taking the piss in return.
The funniest and memorable exchange happened when we were leaving Angkor Wat on day one, heading for The Bayon. Another throng of children selling books, postcards etc milled around. We bought some water and negotiated hard for the Cambodia Lonely Planet (photocopy) as a guide to the Temples. We’d agreed to a price with one girl (about ten-years-old) but another girl started to get upset saying things like: ‘No, you buy from me?’ Finally, when Andrea said, quite sincerely, ‘Look, I’m sorry … very sorry,’ this delightful little girl turned into the devil and replied: ‘No sorry … your sorry mean nothing … you keep your sorry … your sorry won’t help me sleep at night…’
It took us both by surprise and Andrea couldn’t help responding: ‘Ok, I’ll keep it. I take it back, I’m not sorry.’ Hard to imagine having this sort of exchange with too many other ten or eleven year old girls, but that’s the Temples of Angkor.
There are hoards for children like this girl trying to sell water, guidebooks (photocopies), pineapple, anything … but they’re not all as quick witted as the devil child. They are mostly quite sweet, though it can get a bit much all day at every temple.
As far as the Temples are concerned, we bought a three-day pass and did three days by remorque-moto (motorbike with carriage). Maybe three days was too much, but we saw a lot and, in hindsight, we’re glad we did it. Though, just one day is enough if you’re short on time. It was extremely hot and there was thousands of package tourists from either South Korea or Japan moving together in their rude hordes. In so many ways we hate these tourist spots and weve seen very little in the way of ‘cultural’ sites since. As Andrea put it, we are ‘templed-out’.
After a quiet few days in Siem Reap by night, we took a bus to Phnom Penh to meet up with our friends Donna and Neil.

Phnom Penh

Lost in Phnom Penh. Of all the cities we’ve ever visited, Phnom Penh was easily the dirtiest and least attractive in a purely aesthetic sense, but there was charm in this strange, wasted place. The mirrored streets allow for very little orientation to the new visitor; when you can find your way during the daylight hours, at night it switches out the lights and you find nothing is the same, and each street in indiscernible from the next.
Despite the slightly morbid fascination with the Killing Field the city can be transfixing and beguiling, and there are a few sights in and around Phnom Penh including the Killing Fields and S-21 to visit.
We saw the Killing Fields of Choeung Ek and the Tuol Sleng Museum (S-21), which made for an utterly depressing day. The Killing Fields is just an area of land where thousands of victims of the Khmer Rouge were taken and executed. There are human bone fragments and tattered clothing remnants everywhere. It has a slightly eerie feeling and a macabre souvenir shop!
We didn’t see too many other sights, other than the nightlife. We were kind of looking forward to few days resting and relaxing on the beaches at Sihanoukville.

Sihanoukville

We spent nine days in Sihanoukville and have four photos of the place. And when you consider we might shoot thirty pictures a day, this was some lazy nine days. We spent so many days there that they blended to be one blob of time with very little photographic evidence. We took a boat trip and got our Vietnam visas; other than that, we sat at the beach, drank icy cold beer, played a bit of pool and did nothing. I can see why people never leave, it’s so hard to get anything done, why bother, just stay and soak up the rays.

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Photos

Leaving Poipet
Just get us out of here!

Rural Battambang
All part of the scenery in Battambang

Battambang
A more traditional mode of transport than our tuk-tuk

Clambering up Angkor
Just like the rest of the area, swarmed with tourists

Comments

[Andrea and Ben]

Locals
Not natives, just sick to death of marauding masses of package tourists!