At the advice of a fellow traveler at the Riverline guesthouse, we decided to take the government train to the border, free to Thais and a whopping $1.45 for fo
reigners for a 6-hour ride. Though the train was packed, the ride was uneventful. Then the hassles began...
It wasn't one of our more pleasant border crossings. Long-story short, we ended up paying $10 more for our visas than we should have and paying about $4 more than we thought we would for a 3-hour shared taxi-ride into the city of Siem Reap. On the bright side, we shared the taxi with a very cool couple, Sebastien and Joy, also traveling Southeast Asia, and the time went quickly as we chatted through the ride.
Siem Reap is a dusty, touristy town where everything seems to exist for the tourist hordes coming to visit Angkor Wat. It is similar to Aguas Calientes and Macchu Picchu, except that the people and prices are friendlier. Found a great little guesthouse, the Red Lodge, where we got a fan room with a private bath for just $7. And it comes with a nice courtyard where there is free coffee/tea, bread and bananas all day. And they provide towels, toilet paper and soap... wow! And the knowledgeable, Mr. Dong, who runs the place, helped us with our planning and transport.
Spent the next three days visiting wats, including Angkor Wat and Angkor Thom. Though it was amazing, and at times, breathtaking, we found ourselves getting “watted-out.” And did I mention it was Chinese New Year? Which meant everything was extra-crowded. And everywhere we went, there were hordes of kids wanting to sell us anything from postcards and cold drinks (useful) to toys and bracelets (not so useful). These kids are not only absolutely adorable, but also absolutely RELENTLESS! Being the suckers that we are, we'd get back at the end of the day (entirely covered in red dust!) and empty our bags of useless knick-knacks we had purchased.
Took a break from the madness by visiting the very interesting, the very tranquil, silk farm where we learned where silk comes from (the saliva of silkworms). Also spent an afternoon taking a tuk-tuk, a motorbike and a boat to the fishing village of Kompong Phhluk, where the houses are built on wooden stilts 7 meters high on the lake.
Realized it was our 365th day on the road! Ha! Can't believe a whole year has passed and can't believe we haven't killed each other yet. Guess it's going well...
Erik: Yes, the border crossing was very stressful. You need to get a tuk-tuk (3-wheeled scooter carriage) from the train station to the border, but the drivers refuse to take you there until you buy a visa from one of the places that overcharges you. Nice scam. At least we didn't overpay $20 like most of the other tourists we saw...so I guess we were half-savvy, half chumps.
The Angkor ruins are truly amazing despite the crowds. Angkor Wat, the largest religious building in the world, is breathtaking for the sheer vastness of it. You walk through the main gate, and then still have more than a quarter mile to walk to get into the central temple, and the bas-relief sculptures on the wall surrounding it have amazing detail, depicting ancient hindu epic myths. My favorite temple, though, was Bayon in the Angkor Thom complex, with its hundreds of huge sculpted faces staring down at you with mysterious smiles. We were there just after sunrise, so the lighting was dramatic, the air cool, and the tourists sparse.
Despite what we'd heard to the contrary, we found Cambodian food quite tasty – spicy curries and rich amoks (coconut, lemon grass stew), as well as simple cold noodles and refreshing green bean drinks. I was even talked into eating a fried cricket by some friendly Malaysian tourists, and it wasn't too bad.
It was very, very hot and dusty in Siem Reap, and I soon found my long hair a disadvantage. There was an old local barber across the street from our hostel, so I finally took the plunge and got my first haircut in over a year. I went for the dramatic and had him buzz my hair as short as possible. It was a comical scene as neighborhood kids gathered round to see the long-haired “barang” (foreigner) go under the clippers while Talor documented with the camera. There was an enormous pile of long, blonde/gray hair in lap afterwards. What a relief, though. My “hair” dries in 30 seconds now, and no need to break any more brushes trying to untangle it after a shampoo. Talor says that I look like a convict now, but i don't care.
After a few days in Siem Reap, though, we were “watted out” as Talor says. (“wats” are cambodian/thai temples.) We were ready to move on to Phnom Penh, and from there hopefully to the less touristy parts of Cambodia.
Our (way too many) photos of Siem Reap and Angkor:
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| Siem Reap |
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