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Published: June 22nd 2009
Ok so it has been quite some time since my last entry. I still have Malaysia, Singapore, and Hong Kong to write about so stay tuned in the coming weeks for many updates on my travels in Asia! Sorry for the delay...I haven't been stuck in Thailand for the past 3 months just a little busy here in Japan 😊
Tuesday, March 10 - Monday, March 16
So after a weekend at the beach and a night back in Bangkok I took a bus to Siem Reap, Cambodia. Now many people may not know this place but it is most famous for the Angkor Wat and Lara Croft: Tomb Raider which was filmed there in 1999 starring Angelina Jolie. I met the bus at 7:30 in the morning but we ended up leaving later than planned because we were waiting on some other travelers who never showed. In the bus were myself Julie and here eight year old son (United Kingdom) and John (maybe 24) from Australia. Nice company for the all day drive. One of the drivers of our taxi arranged for us to be picked up by a taxi instead of taking the bus in which we
were supposed to take down to Siem Reap. This mean that we would reach Siem Reap in half the time it would take for the bus to reach it. We stopped for lunch just outside the border and were asked about our visas which we needed in order to enter Cambodia. I was already prepared and obtained my visa online at http://www.mfaic.gov.kh/e-visa/vindex.aspx and printed it out myself before I left Japan so I didn't need their services. Once we reached the border we were horded by many people begging for money or trying to sell us things. It was the usual that I had experienced in Thailand. The border town of Poi Pet seemed to be a place were people could come and gamble legally for the most part. After going through customs we headed off to find our taxi driver who seemed a little bit too eager to get us on the bus and to leave Julie and her son Kye behind. I had read about scams that go on in which taxi drivers try to force foreigners to pay a cheap rate and then end up charging them outrageous amounts before getting them to their destination so I
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Me, Kye, and his mom Julia.was a little hesitant at first to get on the bus but I felt that we had power in numbers. We got on the bus which took us to another facility and then we transferred to a car that would take us on our two hour journey to Siem Reap. When we entered Siem Reap we were met by our tuk tuk drivers who would take us to a place to stay. Again I had already prepared and set up reservations ahead of time so I did not have to put up with the driver taking me to an already chosen hotel. So I headed to my hotel which was called Ei8ht Room and was greeted by the friendly staff. Later in the afternoon I went out to find some food and ended up eating at this Indian place with the best milk tea ever! The place was called India Gate and if you ever goto Siem Reap you must eat there! Later I wondered around town at night and drifted through the night market which was similar to the ones in Thailand that I saw. After that I retired to my room and slept though the night while listening
The River
Heading to the river to the sounds of the city outside my window.
3/11/2009
The next day I woke up early in hopes of seeing the famous Angkor Wat but I didn't get out of bed until around 11 so the hotel manager Jason thought that it was best that I start my tour of the ruins the next day pretty early so I could get my moneys worth of the ticket. He recommended I check out the town on the lake so he got me a tuk tuk driver and I headed there later on in the afternoon. It took about 25 minutes to get there and I got to see some of the real people and houses and how they live. It was extremely sad 😞 to see some of the conditions that people lived in. I paid $15 to go up the river and back with a tour guide who spoke English and kept giving me reasons I should give him a tip ( Yeah it was a little rude but I don't blame him). The whole thing seemed like a tourist trap honestly though because he took me to this place where I could buy some school tablets
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On the river and pencils for the kids at the local school for the price of $30 which is somewhat outrageous anywhere in the world for ten notebooks and some pencils. I figured that this was the method of how things work here and I didn't buy into because I felt pressured. I didn't buy it and he was a bit rude the entire remaining journey. I was happy to see my tuk tuk driver after the ride down the river and I headed back to the hotel to take a rest before heading to see the Angkor Wat at sunset. So after a nap in my room I headed to the ruins to buy my ticket and take advantage of the free entry for sunset. The ticket for a three day pass to the Angkor was $60 which I didn't really expect but I paid it anyway. So I headed on my way to see the sunset and I got a quick look at the Angkor itself on the way up to the hill to see the sunset. When I arrived I wasn't alone obviously in my eagerness to see the sunset over Siem Reap. There were many other people there as
The River
My tour guide on the river/lake. I hiked up the hilltop to the top of the peak which offered the most amazing view of the region. I heard some people speaking Japanese so I didn't hesitate to speak Japanese along with them. I met a really nice girl from Tokyo and we exchanged information. It was pretty neat to meet a Japanese person during my travels. The sunset was amazing! I couldn't believe that I was actually there for that moment. 😊 That night I met a nice Japanese lady named Hiromi and we ended up meeting some other Japanese people in a bar so it was great that I got to use my Japanese!
3/12/2009
Since I had bought my pass the previous night I was ready for a day filled with ancient temple exploration! The first major temple on my list was the Temple of Bayon which is famous for the intricately carved stone faces. If you have seen the Tomb Raider I movie these types of statues make an appearance in the movie. The next major temple was Ta Phrom which is known for its appearance in the Tomb Raider movie as well. Such an amazing experience to be on the
former set of one of my favorite films! The last temple that day was the most famous of them all, the Angkor Wat. It was such an amazing complex and extremely well preserved. It took me about two hours to walk around and though it and I really enjoyed my time admiring this ancient building. The Cambodian sun was sweltering so I decided to head back to the hotel and take a break for the night since I would be waking up early the next morning for sunrise over the Angkor Wat.
3/14/2009
Sunrise over the Wat was extremely early so I had to wake up about 4:30AM and head out by 5:15AM or so. The sunrise itself wasn't so great because it was cloudy but it was still a great experience to say that I did it. After that it was a day filled with exploring some the the lesser known temples outlaying the Angkor Wat. Apparently surrounding the Angkor Wat was a massive city of many temples and ruins that I had no idea existed. It was a long and tiring day but I enjoyed every minute of exploration that I accomplished. It was actually quite
relaxing to explore the temples so early in the morning without much distraction from the crowds. I remember it being a lot cooler as well so that was a welcome change from the previous days. Later on in the day I witnessed sunset over the Angkor Wat which was truly a breathtaking site.
3/15/2009
My last full day in Cambodia was spent catching up with the friends I had made at some of the local people and just relaxing and contemplating my time abroad in SE Asia thus far. Cambodia has a lot of interesting sites but behind all of it are many things that I had never seen in my lifetime. There are many young children on the streets selling goods instead of attending schools and there are many prostitutes and other illegal activities going on in plain sight. Despite some of the bad, it is a great place to visit even though it is not as cheap as its neighbors because the $USD is widely used as the Cambodian Real is pretty much worthless. 😞 I hope to sometime visit the capital, Phomn Pehn in the future.
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Tonya Lowry
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Hey Willie
Looks like you're still making life-long memories. Keep it up! I have to tell you I tried the cookies and candy you left at the bank. The cookies tasted like shortbread and the candy was tastey. I did not try the green tea one but I tried the pink one and it was ok. Not real sweet though. I think you need to carry them folks back some Hershey bars. Now that's real American sweets. Be careful! It was great to see ya!