Early morning. A Tuk Tuk ride. Sunrise at Angkor Wat. No, I don’t want coffee, beer, boom-boom or coconuts. I want watch the sunset over the stones of history! Why else would I be walking around Cambodia at 5AM?!!
We spend a whole day exploring the complex of Angkor Wat. The morning was packed, but it seemed many tourists went back to their five star hotels after snapping a few shots at sunrise. This was great, because exploring the ruins of an old empire are better off done without crowds. It wasn’t deserted, but it wasn’t over run.
There is not much to say about Angkor Wat though. It’s a big temple. It is surrounded by many small temples. There are a lot of stone carvings, and it is pretty magnificent. But, it isn’t a place where you can play Indiana Jones or Lara Croft. It was similar to when I went to the Great Wall and the Taj Mahal, with maybe about 1/3 less people. Maybe I’ve seen too many world wonders; although magnificent they don’t let you get lost in your own imagination. This is not to say I wouldn’t recommend a visit. Everyone should see it! It’s just that I can’t write anything that can’t already be read in a travel book or someone else’s travel blog. Instead I will leave you with a couple thousand words.
Stone face of the Bayon
After Angkor Wat, we went to a buffet. Actually the first and only real time I tried Khmer (Cambodian) food since our prior culinary choices consisted of Indian curry for dinner and French inspired cuisine for breakfast. Cambodian food is delicious. It resembles Thai food, with unique flavors and lower spice levels that tell you it is different somehow. While we ate, we had the opportunity to watch an Apsara Dance show.
After Angkor Wat, we went to a buffet. Actually the first and only real time I tried Khmer (Cambodian) food since our prior culinary choices consisted of Indian curry for dinner and French inspired cuisine for breakfast. Cambodian food is delicious. It resembles Thai food, with unique flavors and lower spice levels that tell you it is different somehow. While we ate, we had the opportunity to watch an Apsara Dance show.
Apsara: Then
Apsara: Now
The next day, Mean took us 3 hours by tuk tuk out to a real gem. A place that did let me feel a little like Indiana Jones. Especially when the police officer told me to watch out for snakes if I climb down into the temple, I hate snakes! But luckily, no Cobra!
Afterwards we stopped at a floating village. We paid an exhorbant price of $20 per person ($60 for the 3 of us) to get into a half broken boat that ferried the three of us down into what looked more like a ghetto than a village. The poverty level was staggering in proportion to the price we had to pay to see the village. We were asked if we wanted to get into a small boat to be guided through the marshes, and of course for adventure sake we said yes. We quickly changed our mind when we got in and were ferried about 5 meters to another boat where a guy tried to get $10 per person from us again while being supervised by some shady cop. We told the guy we paid tons of money already, but he said it was different. He then handed me a cell phone, I think he was calling the people we bought the tickets from, but all there was was static and voices speaking no English. After picking up a dead fish and trying to scare our female travel companion, we said we’d just go back to the big boat, we don’t need the ride. When staying a night at a guest house costs $8/person, $30/person for a ghetto tour is robbery.
The floating village
Sometimes still beautiful
This shady almost law enforced scam, with the knowledge of knowing that about $5 of that $60 that we paid was going to the village and boat driver made me hate this place, and was really the only thing I would advise people NOT to do in Cambodia. Don’t go to a “floating village” unless you just want to look at begging children and those trying to make a quick buck off of them.
We paid enough money for 15 pairs of shoes in Cambodia.
Sometimes still beautiful
This shady almost law enforced scam, with the knowledge of knowing that about $5 of that $60 that we paid was going to the village and boat driver made me hate this place, and was really the only thing I would advise people NOT to do in Cambodia. Don’t go to a “floating village” unless you just want to look at begging children and those trying to make a quick buck off of them.
We paid enough money for 15 pairs of shoes in Cambodia.
After a great stay in Siem Reap, we boarded a bus and headed to Phnom Penh, Cambodia’s capital and biggest city but only containing about 1.3 million people. Here we ate food and walked around. It was possibly here that I finally cemented my love for Cambodia. Out of the tourism industry of Siem Reap and into a real city, I had a chance to meet many Cambodians.
French inspired Cambodia
When we got off the bus a tuk tuk driver was trying to have us acquire his services. Of course we first wanted to get oriented to where we were. But he kept telling us in an overly helpful manner where we were and that he could take us where we want to go. After dealing with the numerous scams you are undoubtedly going to run across in Cambodia, we weren’t quite in instant buddy mode. Because of this, he kind of complained about us not trusting him but we ended up taking his services. Turned out he was honest and even helped us find a good guest house, since the place we had booked looked like a meth lab and far from the river front where we wanted to explore. Because he turned out to be a good guy, we decided to hire him to get us to the bus station the next morning. It was a relief to find a Cambodian that realized that being honest can sometimes make you more cash than trying to scam a tourist.
Besides this, the loving nature of most Cambodians was awesome. Everyone is trying to sell you something, but if you don’t get worn out and mad, but smile widely and joke around, you realize you can become friends with anyone. Even if you don’t take their services or products, the small friendship you built doesn’t go away. It almost seemed that the happiness you shared was more important than getting money. Something that surprised me in a country that is extremely poor.
When we got off the bus a tuk tuk driver was trying to have us acquire his services. Of course we first wanted to get oriented to where we were. But he kept telling us in an overly helpful manner where we were and that he could take us where we want to go. After dealing with the numerous scams you are undoubtedly going to run across in Cambodia, we weren’t quite in instant buddy mode. Because of this, he kind of complained about us not trusting him but we ended up taking his services. Turned out he was honest and even helped us find a good guest house, since the place we had booked looked like a meth lab and far from the river front where we wanted to explore. Because he turned out to be a good guy, we decided to hire him to get us to the bus station the next morning. It was a relief to find a Cambodian that realized that being honest can sometimes make you more cash than trying to scam a tourist.
Besides this, the loving nature of most Cambodians was awesome. Everyone is trying to sell you something, but if you don’t get worn out and mad, but smile widely and joke around, you realize you can become friends with anyone. Even if you don’t take their services or products, the small friendship you built doesn’t go away. It almost seemed that the happiness you shared was more important than getting money. Something that surprised me in a country that is extremely poor.
I refused this guy, but he accepted a picture!
On the surface, Cambodia seems like an empty wasteland filled with landmines, scams, crime and grime with Angkor Wat being the only reason for entering such a country. But if you dive through this layer and don’t let it cloud your vision, the country is amazing! What makes it amazing is the people. For every one guy that tries to scam you, throw a dead fish in your face or threaten to throw you in a river; there are a thousand smiles.
On the surface, Cambodia seems like an empty wasteland filled with landmines, scams, crime and grime with Angkor Wat being the only reason for entering such a country. But if you dive through this layer and don’t let it cloud your vision, the country is amazing! What makes it amazing is the people. For every one guy that tries to scam you, throw a dead fish in your face or threaten to throw you in a river; there are a thousand smiles.
Much of Cambodia looks like this. Much of this is concealing land mines.
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