Cambodia: Angkor Wat and Phnom Penh

After a lot of planning and re-planning of the period between Thailand and Japan we eventually decided to head to Cambodia for five days. The country sounded really interesting and we were both keen to see a more rough and ready part of south-east Asia. We had heard plenty about the horrendous overland journey from Bangkok to Siem Reap, but we decided to do it in order to avoid the extortionate air fares (apparently due to an airline company – to remain nameless here – bribing the Cambodian government to keep the road in a terrible state of repair so that people will opt to fly on the monopolised air route). We researched the journey very well and felt ready to make the 10 hour trip across the border. We got up early, very early (3.45am) to give ourselves the best chance of getting to the Thai border before the tour buses got there at midday and flooded the immigration counters. We took a bus at 5am, which was very comfy and we travelled very smoothly across the east of Thailand, arriving at Aranyprathet just before 9.30am – so far so good. We then took a tuk tuk the 2km or so to the border town of Poipet, and there all the fun started.

Even though we were there early, the queue to get stamped out of Thailand was BIG. It was actually two queues, with the foreigners kept separate to the Thais who cross the border to gamble in the casinos in Cambodia, and the Thais were let through (for reasons unknown) much more quickly than us. We edged forward painfully slowly in the queue, getting inside after an hour in the heat and dust. Inside we saw lots of signs for ‘no visa on arrival’ which put us on edge as the Songkran festival had shut the Cambodian embassy in Bangkok and this was our only option. Still, we got through into the ‘no mans land’ between Thailand and Cambodia without a problem, but then we had to sort the visa. The sign on the wall said ‘tourist visa - $20.00’, so with $40.00 in hand we went to the window. A ‘helpful’ attendant then informed us that the price was actually $25 each because it was a ‘speedy visa.’ He also wanted us to pay in Thai baht, the total in that currency coming out as closer to $30 each. We both knew it was a scam and kicked up a serious fuss with the office and the policemen inside. We both also knew it was pointless though as we were tourists and therefore a target for fleecing… even the police turned out to be in on the scam game. We reluctantly gave them the $50.00 (in US currency, much to their annoyance) and headed for Cambodia.

It was very different on the other side - much dirtier, poorer and felt a lot more dangerous. Almost straight away we got seriously hounded by taxi touts trying to get us into a cab to Siem Reap or telling us buses were ‘closed’ – another scam. We knew the price should be around $40.00 to hire the whole car for the three and a half hour trip, but all the offers were twice that ‘because, my friend, it is the holiday – that is very good price for you.’ We just couldn’t believe the aggression of the touts, and after eventually getting a fair price we were seriously glad to be out of Poipet (that it rhymes with ‘toilet’ is no coincidence) and on the road. The 3 hour trip was tough going – the road was actually a dirt track full of pot holes. We passed a lot of poverty on the way as we bounced in the hot, dusty and cramped car (we had opted, unwisely, to share the taxi with two other travellers so were suffering under our bags and squashed against windows) towards Siem Reap. We stopped for only one drink stop so it was a massive relief when we got to our destination, took a tuk tuk to our hotel (hounded the whole way by the driver to use him for all our travels over the next few days) and collapsed in our surprisingly nice room. All in all the journey had taken just under ten hours and had been relatively stress free. We had heard of ‘scam buses’ that ran from Khao San road in Bangkok that often took up to two DAYS, taking massive detours so that the tourists would have to stay at certain expensive hotels. We felt our research had definitely paid off and we were now ready to explore the good bits of Cambodia!

On our first full day we hired a local tuk tuk driver on recommendation and headed the few kilometres out of town to the temples of Angkor Wat, our main reason for coming to Cambodia. We bought a three day pass (we heard that spending less time than that would ‘sacrilege’!). We decided to spend the first day exploring the area of Angkor Thom and got dropped off by our driver outside the huge Bayon temple at 7am, before most of the tourists arrived and whilst the sun cast a nice unearthly glow. We wandered amongst the deserted archways and towers, all the while being gazed upon by the hundreds of stone faces carved into the stonework. It was all very spectacular and more than a bit spooky! We then walked over to the Terrace of the Elephants, a long walkway with lots of carvings, before arriving at the Terrace of the Leper King. This was a huge (20ft+) platform with hundreds of grim stone masks on the walls. By this time the sun had started to get pretty hot (at 8am!!), so we walked away from the central court into the jungle to cool down.

We set off walking to our next temple only to acquire a small group of children beggars. All sweetness and smiles they wanted us to take photos, and then suddenly the tables turned and little grubby mitts were pulling at our sleeves and they walked alongside us whining for money, quite relentlessly. This happened often touring around Angkor, and we were beside ourselves with feeling terribly sorry for the kids and at the same time completely harassed with hands pulling at our clothes (sometimes for as long as 5 minutes). We never once ignored them though as they were so poor, and sometimes some peace could be reached by giving them sweets (at least we knew the sweets were going to the kids themselves) or teaching them a trick. Obviously their parents had taught them about the art of begging very well – some of them counted to ten in English and reeled off cities in the UK. The most difficult situation we came across was when a tiny girl ran up to Rachel and put a bracelet on her wrist and said it was a present from Cambodia. We knew it was a trick that would lead to something else, but she was so tiny and big-eyed we had no idea what to do and in the end had to leave the bracelet on the floor beside her – we saw her mother pick it up afterwards. Another saddening sight around the temples was amputees who had suffered at the woe of the landmines. Some blind, most missing various legs and arms they played instruments at the entrances to the temples and begged.

One of our favourite temples, which we found later that morning, was a small temple called Preah Pailay. It was a wonderous find with its crumbling central tower, huge trees growing out of the stonework, jungle noises all around and, best of all, it was completely deserted! A huge hooting noise from the trees gave us both the willies – we have no idea what kind of animal it was! After we woke our driver (happily sleeping in his tuk tuk!) and drove over to Phreah Khan. The gloomy, lichen clad corridors with tonnes of carvings were excellent and we spent a good hour getting lost in the maze of switchback tunnels. Rach was a particulary big fan of this one and must have taken a hundred photos! By now we were starting to get a bit hot and tired (well, it was 10.30am!) so decided to do one more temple before lunch. Preah Neak Pean was a huge old swimming complex with ornate lion carvings and huge pools and sub-pools, all around a central fountain. It had been dry for centuries, but was still very impressive… and apparently its design is being copied for a swimming pool in Las Vegas! We then drove back to our hotel for some lunch, where our driver told us he wasn’t feeling too good (we suspected a hangover was somewhat to blame) and could we just finish at half a day. We agreed, as we were pretty pooped too, and paid him for the morning. We had a delicious lunch of pasta, cooked gourmet style by Gaz in the kettle (hee hee), before relaxing in our pool. That evening we ate in our hotel’s restaurant, with both of us opting for potato-based meals (Rach very excited to eat something other than noodles), but they ended up being so spicy that Rach ate about two mouthfuls before having a choking fit, and even Gaz suffered a bit of eye-watering! Needless to say on weighing ourselves in the hotel gym we were both quite shocked to discover we have recently lost 10 kilos between us, BLIMEY!

Day two saw us embark on a bit of an Indiana Jones temple mission out to some of the distant areas of Angkor. We did some serious bartering with the tuk tuk drivers at 6.30am until one finally agreed to take us for the 120km journey! With t-shirts and bandanas wrapped around our faces to protect us from the road dust, we motored out of Siem Reap on the first leg to Beng Mealea, two hours away. Luckily the road was mostly paved so we got to enjoy passing through all the little Cambodian villages without getting bounced around too much. We really felt like we were seeing the non-touristy side to the country. We passed bamboo houses with huge haystacks outside, little grubby kids who all ran out to wave as we went past, huge pickup trucks spilling over with people, oxen pulling wagons, motorbikes with slaughtered pigs slung on the back and tonnes of water buffalo swimming in the marshes. It was a fascinating trip!

We arrived at Beng Mealea, rather dusty, and were thankful to see the sign saying that the last landmine had recently been cleared from the area (we had heard the outlying Angkor areas were still a risk). We then spent a fantastic hour in the temple, which was totally overgrown and had been left to the jungle. For that reason it was incredibly atmospheric and much more rugged than the better maintained main sites of Angkor. We scrambled around on the crumbling walls and climbed the mossy towers, all under cover of dense jungle. It was a great experience, and you would never be able to get so up and close to ancient ruins in the UK, let alone let loose all over them!

We then took the tuk tuk on another 2 hour trip, this one on unpaved roads through mile upon mile of sparse and desolate Cambodian plains.
We were both baking in the heat, choking on the red dust and praying the tuk tuk wouldn’t break down! After a lot of bumping around we arrived back on a road and soon pulled into Banteay Srei. This was a very small temple but definitely the most ornately carved we would see. The artwork on the walls was breathtaking and well preserved. We also saw a few monks wandering around which was very cool, although some of them seemed more keen on taking pictures with their cameras than doing typical monk things! Before we left we had a bowl of super noodles each and a fresh cold coconut, which was much needed after the dusty roads! After another long tuk tuk journey we arrived back at our hotel, exhausted but really pleased we had made the effort. That night we treated ourselves to a Korean dinner and a Cambodian massage – this was the best of our trip yet as it wasn’t just an hour of pain (there were a few relaxing seconds thrown in amongst the obligatory toe cracking!).

On our final day we decided to visit the main Angkor Wat site, saving the most famous temples for last. We got up very early, whilst it was still pitch dark, found a driver and we motored out to the site for sunrise. We joined the surprisingly large numbers of people thronging across the Angkor Wat walkway and into the temple. It was very different to the isolation of yesterday! Although the tourists did spoil the feel of the temple, the sun rising over the big towers of the temple and reflecting off the water inside was a breathtaking sight, and we got a couple of great photos. We then explored the inside of Angkor Wat, which was simply enormous – much, much bigger than any of the other temples we had seen! We walked for ages through the corridors, some smelling pretty strongly of bat wee(!), before emerging on the far side. There we got some more great photos of the temple, now lit up in the rising sunshine.

We then found our driver in the mass of tuk tuks and headed to Ta Promh. We were pretty hungry so did some bartering for some food at a little stall, managing to get a huge pineapple pancake pretty cheaply, before we waddled into the temple. Again, the place was filled with tourists, especially Japanese tour groups, but the temple was incredible. The walls were covered with gigantic tree roots, which in some places actually seemed to be holding the temple together! At every turn we seemed to come across a more spectacular tree clinging to the walls, until we came across the most famous sight in the temple – the tree into which Lara Croft falls in Tomb Raider. Needless to say it was packed with people taking photos and jumping all over the tree root, but we waited around for a while and soon caught a gap in the masses for some good pictures. Following Ta Promh we drove to Ta Keo, a huge pyramidal temple with some insanely steep, and tiny, stairs leading to the top. We climbed up in the searing heat and relaxed in the shady building at the top, complete with incense and big Buddha! The climb down was, in one word, terrifying. It was almost vertical and Rach had a few shaky moments on some of the frightening steps. We both agreed that the Angkorians must have been pretty good climbers, even in their prayer robes! We finished off our temple experience at Banteay Kdei and Sra Srang temples, the latter was a platform overlooking the Angkor moat. It was a perfect way to end, and we drove back to the hotel tired out but very happy!

The next day we headed for Phnom Penh. We had booked a ‘VIP bus with luxury pickup’, which turned out to be a good bit of false advertising. The pickup was in a minibus designed for twenty and actually carrying close to fifty. Gaz actually had to hang out of the bus for some of the journey it was so full! The bus to Phnom Penh was no better. It certainly wasn’t VIP or the double decker pictured on our ticket, but a rickety single decker with tiny seats, no toilet, loud wailing music and broken air conditioning… for 5 hours. Gaz added to the enjoyment by spilling his apple juice all over the floor as soon as we got on, so the whole floor was sticky and stank for the journey! We finally arrived at Phnom Penh, to be greeted by the rather frightening sight of loads of tuk tuk drivers all running towards the bus and banging on the windows. Being fairly proficient in the art of the banter by now, Gaz was pretty direct in requesting, and getting, half the quoted rate. We got to our ‘New York Hotel’ and the driver got shirty as apparently ‘I give you good rate because you agree to hire me many days after today’. This was total rubbish, we had said nothing of the sort, and so we just gave him his fare and walked away – getting ripped off was starting to annoy us by now! Our hotel room was not what we’d paid for, had a dirty bathroom and the advertised gym had been turned into a second breakfast room – great. We decided to get out of there quickly and explore the city, so we took a tuk tuk (after more harassment from the touts outside the hotel) over to the infamous Tuol Sleng, also known as the Kymer Rouge’s ‘S21’ interrogation and torture camp during their reign in Cambodia. It was a very harrowing visit. The building, once a school, held over 14,000 people in its time and only 7 of them survived. Much to our horror we walked through blood stained torture rooms and the huge rows of tiny cells where prisoners were held. Even more sobering were the boards holding all the photos of the inmates, taken as they were brought into the jail, many were only children and had tears in their eyes. It was thoroughly upsetting and kept us both rather quiet for a few hours after in sombre moods, but we thought the visit was important to get an idea of the history of the country. That evening we did not venture far as the city was reportedly pretty dangerous after dark, so we ate some great noodles in a nearby Chinese restaurant.

The following day we took yet another tuk tuk out to see the Killing Fields at El Choeng. It was a long and polluted drive out through the city, with horns beeping all around and traffic driving head long towards us at frightening speeds, but we soon got out to the countryside and then the fields themselves. We wandered around the excavated mass graves where the executed Cambodians (many from Tuol Sleng) were buried. The Khmer Rouge regime found bullets too expensive to use in their ethnic cleansing mission, so instead conducted their massive massacre with blunt instruments such as shovels - pretty horrendous. Some graves had bits of old clothing pushing up through the soil which was also disturbing. We also saw a huge pagoda monument filled with skulls from the dead. Again, it was a pretty depressing experience but the place was very peaceful and we came away not feeling quite as upset as the day before. We then decided to do something a bit more fun and went to the huge Russian market in the middle of Phnom Penh. It was absolutely heaving and filled with every kind of stall imaginable! We wandered the clothes, antiques and silk areas, getting hassled to buy things at every opportunity before eventually making a few purchases. We then headed back to the hotel as we were getting headaches from all the traffic fumes. We packed up, caught one final tuk tuk to the airport, and were rather relieved to fly back to the ‘calmness’ of Bankgok…