I am downstairs waiting for BunLong as he drives up in his tuktuk. He gets off his bike, shakes my hand and wishes me a good morning. He tells me what our day's plans are and what the admission costs will be.
We drive in the pitch black of early morning for at least 30 minutes. It still surprises me to see how early life gets going in this country. 5:00 AM and the streets are already full of people selling food, going to work, and opening their shops.
We pass by the largest resort I have ever set eyes on: The Royal Angkor Siem Reap. It's 5-star and only $120 Cdn/night but it feels like it's out in the middle of nowhere. Even given the price, I would hate staying this far away from the action in town.
I have to buy my admission ticket to Angkor Wat. We pull into what I presume is Angkor Wat but it isn't. There are already several hundred (or quite possibly thousands) of tuktuks and taxis in the massive parking lot despite the fact it's still pitch black outside. This is simply the place that everyone must drive to in order to buy their entrance ticket. The amount of people inside this building is mind-boggling. The biggest lineups were for the single day passes. I waited less than 10 minutes to pay my $$ and get my photo ID ticket. You need this ticket for all entrances to all the temples covered by the Angkor Wat ticket pricing scheme. You have an option of a single day, three-day or a seven-day ticket. BunLong tells me to buy a 3-day ticket (I had budgeted for a single day as when he told me the itinerary months ago I didn't clue in that some of the places he outlined for us were captured under the Angkor Wat umbrella). The ticket prices doubled as of February 1 so it cost $63 US. Pricey!
I can quickly see that I severely under-budgeted how much US dollars I would need for Cambodia. Definitely need to find a bank machine and withdraw more cash. It's good though that you have a choice at Cambodian bank machines to withdraw the local Riel currency or the US $. All prices in Cambodia are listed in American dollars so if you pay in American dollars, any change you get is in the local Riel currency. Important to keep a lot of small American bills to avoid getting much Riel in change.
Once I have the ticket in hand I head back to the parking lot and try to spot BunLong in the massive collection of tuktuks. Lucky for me, he has an eye open for me and is waving his arms to get my attention. We get back on the road, drive past that massive hotel, and drive for about 10-15 minutes to Angkor Wat. BunLong explains to me what to expect. He gives me a time-frame of when I should come out the gate to find him, and says he'll be parked near the WC sign (water closest).
I head down the path to the gate that will punch my ticket. Once inside I spot a cart selling coffee and grab one for $2 US.
It's still pitch black out and I follow the throngs of people. I should have had a flashlight. The stepping was precarious as all the stone pathways are misaligned, some stones are missing, some are an inch or more higher than the stones near it. It was rather dangerous if I do say so myself. Some smart travelers had flashlights or used their phones. I tried to find a group with a guide and I stayed on their tails to light my way.
There are two reflecting ponds, one on each side of the pathway. BunLong told me the left-hand side is the most popular. So I try to find a spot alongside the side of the left pond. There are already thousands of people there, most congregating at the one end of the pond hoping to catch the reflection of Angkor Wat in the pond. I'm not even going to bother to try to do that. I find a spot on the side. I strike up a conversation with an American who has been solo traveling around Vietnam and Cambodia for a couple of months. After awhile he is beginning to get on my nerves so I move on, wander around and find another spot.
Angkor Wat was built in the first half of the 12th century and it took about 30 years to build. It is a Hindu Temple and you can determine that because the steeples are pointed at the top whereas Buddhist Temples have flat tops.
Unfortunately, I find out at the end of the day when I'm reviewing the days photos that almost all my photos are white-washed. The sun was just too bright and I didn't get much colour at all in my photos. #disappointing to say the least. However, grateful to my professional photographer friend Stephanie for helping me out with my Lumix camera and telling me which settings to use to get more colour in my photos going forward.
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| Waiting for sunrise |
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| The sunrise doesn't materialize into anything spectacular. |
It is MASSIVE in size. I know I didn't see every nook and cranny of it by any stretch. I'll let the photos do the talking.
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| Take this crowd, times it by about 1000 % and that's how many people were maneuvering around Angkor Wat. These people are at the end of the pond hoping to catch a good reflection. |
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| Despite the heat, you must be covered up. |
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| Casualty being carried out, only about an hour after sunrise. Her foot was bandaged & they brought in a van to drive her out of the compound. |
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| I just happened to be in the right place at the right time to capture this one. |
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| I waited forever for Ms. chartreuse dress to move but she was hell bent on pretending to be a model up there. |
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| Distance from the gate to the Temple |
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| Even Monks can be tourists |
My time is up and I have to leave Angkor Wat to meet with BunLong so we can move on to the next Temple on our itinerary. I am eagerly awaiting the ice cold lemongrass scented towel as it's a scorcher.
We only drive about 5 minutes away to the next Temple on our circuit: BayonTemple.
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| @Bayon Temple |
Unfortunately, I am having Google issues here in Hanoi. I've never before had an issue connecting to Google but the Google.com.vn is definitely sporadic at my current location. Had finished this blog on March 11 and although I saved it throughout, it has not actually saved anything I updated since I wrote the first draft. Argh! It's always something. So much effort put in with nothing to show for it.
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| @ Bayon Temple |
This little girl was making mud pies. I presume her Mom must have been working in one of the stalls in the area where we had stopped to eat breakfast. I've very rarely seen any toys in this country.
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| Ta Prohm Temple |
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| If you don't like crowds, this isn't the place for you. |
Well our day has come to an end. It's only 1:30 PM but we've been on the go for more than 8 hours and the heat of the day has about done me in. I've definitely had enough sun and heat for the day. It's 33 C but the weather app says it feels like 38 C. I can vouch for that.
Here is a longer video of the last Temple today: Last Temple of the day in Siem Reap
BunLong drops me back at my hotel. I need to hit the swimming pool. One good tip I was given about Siem Reap is to book a hotel with a swimming pool because it is THAT hot here.
After my dip in the pool, I shower and lay down to have a bit of a nap before walking into town for something to eat.
Day # 3 with BunLong
I was awakened at 4:00 AM by the sound of loud music. By 5:30 AM the music was absolutely cranked and I was up and out of bed before the alarm went off. What the hell is this? There must be a temple of some sort down the road from my hotel. Music in the wee hours
As I'm up so early, I have plenty of time to look out the window. I see people walking past the hotel all dressed up in fancy clothes and traditional clothing too.
I happen to be looking out the window just before 7:30 AM and see BunLong pull up just as a huge procession of well-dressed people are walking past the hotel. I ask BunLong what the heck is going on. He tells me this is a wedding procession and they are all going to the Temple and that the music will play for two full days. Wedding procession
We're in BunLong's air conditioned car today as we are driving about 120 km from Siem Reap to see the Koh Ker Temples which were built in 924 BC.
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| It is reminiscent of riding an elephant. |
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| When your motorcycle is your only option, you will find a way. |
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| These are a very popular mode of transport in these parts. |
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| This is one of those "tractors". |
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| I was walking along a trail to a Temple and these little girls came along. Notice the different body language between the two? The one dressed in purple was super friendly and had more than a few words of English. |
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| Completely irritates me that this message even needs to be posted. People can be so very ignorant. |
I could climb to the top of this particular Temple. I believe it was 3500 meters. For the most part I had this Temple all to myself. Despite how hot and sunny it was, the view was a good one. You could look out and see the neighbouring village and all the plumes of smoke of burning fields off in the distance. I'm only just learning to take videos so they are shaky and I move the lens around much faster than I should. Will try to slow down in the future. View from the top of the Temple
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| This is the Temple I climbed to the top of |
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| He's all alone, looking like he had a grueling day. Notice the "shades" (no lenses). |
This was our lunch stop. As per usual, BunLong doesn't sit with me to eat. I find this rather strange. I don't know why he chooses to do this but it could be a variety of reasons: He gets tired of speaking English; he likes to catch up with the locals or other tour guides; it avoids the awkwardness of a tourist paying for his meal; I find it all very odd though.
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| Traditional and very common Lok Lak. It was very good. The melon drink, not so much. |
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| @ Prasat Linga 924 BC |
We were following this tractor. The video isn't the best as it was a bumpy dirt road and I'm recording from inside the car but if you want a hearty laugh, watch it. Kids on the back of a tractor
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| Prasat Banteay Pri Chean 924 BC |
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| Prasat Banteay Pri Chean |
Saving the best for last, Pasat Pram was my favourite Temple of the day. How appropriate this is how we end today's Temple tour. It was unbelievable and to make it even better I was the only tourist here.
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| Prasat Pram |
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| Prasat Pram 924 BC |
In this area, cashew nut farming is one of the main crops. In hindsight, I see I never took a photo of the actual trees. BunLong asked me if I had ever seen a cashew nut and I replied "only in a tin can".
This looks like a rather labourious crop to farm.
This looks like a rather labourious crop to farm.
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| Cashews on the tree |
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| Kids from the cashew farm. As soon as we pulled up, they came running. They say something to BunLong and he says "They want you to take their photo". I love how they are holding on to one another. |
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| Hauling logs |
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| I add this only because they are both smiling and it makes me happy. Taken from the car, hence the reflection. |
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| I like that despite all that has fallen from the structure it's been left as it fell and there has been no attempt to clean it up. |
This is the end of all the Temples we are going to see today. Time to head back towards Siem Reap.
Along the side of the road are numerous stands selling sticky rice. I remember how tasty it was in Thailand and I tell BunLong I would like to stop to buy some.
Sticky rice is packed inside pieces of bamboo and then cooked on a wood burning fire. To eat the sticky rice inside, you need to peel away the bamboo (similar to peeling a banana). It is sweet and reminiscent of rice pudding.
I ask BunLong if he would like one and he says "yes", and I ask if his wife and kids would like one as well. He says they would very much like to have some so I buy enough for everyone. It costs less than $5 US for all of them.
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It just dawned on me that I haven't spoken much about my guide BunLong. Bunlong is 38-years-old. He is married with four sons, a 13-yr-old and a set of 7-yr-old triplets.
BunLong was raised by his grandparents. BunLong told me that he had to walk 10 km each way to school and that often he would be late for his school day because he had farm chores to do each morning, including hauling water 2 km. He said hauling the water entailed usually 3 trips and he had to do this every single morning before going to school.
Because his family was poor, they could not afford to send BunLong to school past the 9th grade. In Cambodia, children must pay for their lessons. He says the teacher would photocopy the text book and you had to buy the lessons from the teacher. His family just couldn't afford to purchase those lessons so BunLong had to quit school and get a job.
He supported himself by doing manual labour. People who work manual labour in Cambodia are typically uneducated. I asked BunLong why there are so many women working hard manual labour jobs in Cambodia (brick laying, shoveling dirt, demolition of buildings). BunLong says because they are poor and uneducated and that is the only type of job they can get. When you're very poor, everyone in the family has to go out to work.
BunLong aspired to have a better life. After working his manual labour job, he would go to night school from 5:00 PM to 10:00 PM every night so as to learn English. This was the catalyst that changed his life. Once he could speak English, he became a tuktuk driver. Initially he would drive only local people around but as his English improved he was able to start getting some tourists on his tuktuk.
Two years ago, BunLong was able to get a bank loan to buy a 1995 Toyota Corolla car with air conditioning. Owning a car has made a huge difference in his business especially for being able to offer tours further out of town.
From speaking with BunLong I came to realize that our lives are really not all that different. He has a car loan (albeit on a 22 year old car!); he is making payments on his refrigerator; and he has an Iphone 4S which he bought 2nd hand. His wife works evenings from 5:00 PM to midnight. When BunLong is working late and his wife is at work, the kids look after themselves. His kids, like kids everywhere, want to play games on the phone but as his phone is so important to his business he doesn't let them. He says the kids keep nagging him to buy another phone but that is simply not in the budget.
I have an old Iphone 4 at home that I haven't used in years. I tell BunLong I will try to find a way to send it to him so his kids can have a phone for games. He was grateful at my suggestion. We talked about how, if I send it in the post, it will probably never arrive as postal services and customs authorities in these countries are notorious for stealing anything of value. There is a Vancouver travel thread on facebook that I will post on seeing if anyone is traveling to Siem Reap who would be willing to deliver the phone to BunLong.
Along the side of the road are numerous stands selling sticky rice. I remember how tasty it was in Thailand and I tell BunLong I would like to stop to buy some.
Sticky rice is packed inside pieces of bamboo and then cooked on a wood burning fire. To eat the sticky rice inside, you need to peel away the bamboo (similar to peeling a banana). It is sweet and reminiscent of rice pudding.
I ask BunLong if he would like one and he says "yes", and I ask if his wife and kids would like one as well. He says they would very much like to have some so I buy enough for everyone. It costs less than $5 US for all of them.
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| Sticky Rice |
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| Apparently there is an knack to peeling sticky rice so she peeled mine for me. |
It just dawned on me that I haven't spoken much about my guide BunLong. Bunlong is 38-years-old. He is married with four sons, a 13-yr-old and a set of 7-yr-old triplets.
BunLong was raised by his grandparents. BunLong told me that he had to walk 10 km each way to school and that often he would be late for his school day because he had farm chores to do each morning, including hauling water 2 km. He said hauling the water entailed usually 3 trips and he had to do this every single morning before going to school.
Because his family was poor, they could not afford to send BunLong to school past the 9th grade. In Cambodia, children must pay for their lessons. He says the teacher would photocopy the text book and you had to buy the lessons from the teacher. His family just couldn't afford to purchase those lessons so BunLong had to quit school and get a job.
He supported himself by doing manual labour. People who work manual labour in Cambodia are typically uneducated. I asked BunLong why there are so many women working hard manual labour jobs in Cambodia (brick laying, shoveling dirt, demolition of buildings). BunLong says because they are poor and uneducated and that is the only type of job they can get. When you're very poor, everyone in the family has to go out to work.
BunLong aspired to have a better life. After working his manual labour job, he would go to night school from 5:00 PM to 10:00 PM every night so as to learn English. This was the catalyst that changed his life. Once he could speak English, he became a tuktuk driver. Initially he would drive only local people around but as his English improved he was able to start getting some tourists on his tuktuk.
Two years ago, BunLong was able to get a bank loan to buy a 1995 Toyota Corolla car with air conditioning. Owning a car has made a huge difference in his business especially for being able to offer tours further out of town.
From speaking with BunLong I came to realize that our lives are really not all that different. He has a car loan (albeit on a 22 year old car!); he is making payments on his refrigerator; and he has an Iphone 4S which he bought 2nd hand. His wife works evenings from 5:00 PM to midnight. When BunLong is working late and his wife is at work, the kids look after themselves. His kids, like kids everywhere, want to play games on the phone but as his phone is so important to his business he doesn't let them. He says the kids keep nagging him to buy another phone but that is simply not in the budget.
I have an old Iphone 4 at home that I haven't used in years. I tell BunLong I will try to find a way to send it to him so his kids can have a phone for games. He was grateful at my suggestion. We talked about how, if I send it in the post, it will probably never arrive as postal services and customs authorities in these countries are notorious for stealing anything of value. There is a Vancouver travel thread on facebook that I will post on seeing if anyone is traveling to Siem Reap who would be willing to deliver the phone to BunLong.
[NB: in 2018, my friend Dawne travelled to Siem Reap and she delivered the phone to BunLong. He sent me an email with some pics of his kids with the phone]
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| My driver BunLong and his 1995 Toyota Corolla |
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| BunLong |
Final day with BunLong
Today we are driving to a waterfall and to see a famous Buddha statue. I have been rather surprised at how little Buddhism is on display in Cambodia. I don't know what I was expecting but I was definitely expecting more than what I have seen thus far.
Today we are driving to a waterfall and to see a famous Buddha statue. I have been rather surprised at how little Buddhism is on display in Cambodia. I don't know what I was expecting but I was definitely expecting more than what I have seen thus far.
I've noticed here in Cambodia that types of commerce is done in "pockets". In other words, if they are selling sticky rice, it is only sold in one area of our journey and there will be 30 stalls all lined up selling the same thing. You won't see sticky rice for sale any other place than in this concentrated area. I have noticed this to be true about so many things.
Palm fruit, when boiled down tastes like brown sugar. It is made into syrup, cubes (similar to sugar), and into granules for baking.
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| Palm fruit |
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| Made from Palm fruit: sugar cubes, granules and syrup |
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| The process of straining the Palm fruit liquid consisted of scooping the liquid out with a plastic pop bottle, pouring it through a plastic strainer. She had about six pop bottles tied on to a string and they are dangling down past her knees. |
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| The detail is impressive |
We have driven this far to see a Buddha. BunLong tells me that I need to take my shoes off (well before I reach the Buddha) and then I pay a child to watch my shoes! It is dirty, dusty and disgusting here and I really do not want to remove my shoes but I do. Yuck!
Like Temples everywhere, you can purchase offerings to present to the Buddha.
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| Lotus flowers for sale that you present to the Buddha |
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| Tourists having been given a blessing/prayer by the Monk (for a donation) are now given a wrist bracelet (a piece of coloured string). |
Underwhelming to say the least. One thing I have learned on this trip is that once you've seen what Thailand has to offer in the way of Buddhas no other country I've seen since comes remotely close to measuring up.
Leading to the Buddha, lining the stairs on both sides are people begging (at least it looks to me that they are begging). People are giving them money and cellophane packages that appear to contain toiletry items. Monk handing out money to beggars
And it looks as if this might be some sort of medicine or ritual for sale as well.
Before we leave this area, BunLong takes me to see a family who makes rice noodles. It's just unbelievable to imagine that people are still making noodles the same way they did thousands of years ago. Rice noodles made the old fashioned way
We've driven an awful long way on a dusty dirt road and in all honesty I have found it all quite under whelming. I'm feeling disappointed that we've wasted the day in this way. I would not recommend this day's tour at all.
We head off in the car to look at Lingas (whatever the heck those are). This was actually interesting. In the 10th Century they literally damned the river to stop the water flow and they built Lingas in the river . #Amazing. There is also a carving of Shiva in the river that is still visible.
Throughout all of our email communications, BunLong has been talking about the waterfall. We are headed there now on the same dusty dirty road.
It's quite a walk to the waterfall. BunLong doesn't accompany me to the waterfall but he tells me that there are two of them. I walk to the first one. It's obvious it's really very popular. Sunday at the waterfall
I head towards the second waterfall but the trail is slippery dirt and very steep and there is no way I am going to attempt to go down there. The last thing I need in the first week of my holiday is to fall and hurt myself on this terrain.
The waterfall wasn't impressive at all. It's good for people watching for sure.
Leading to the Buddha, lining the stairs on both sides are people begging (at least it looks to me that they are begging). People are giving them money and cellophane packages that appear to contain toiletry items. Monk handing out money to beggars
And it looks as if this might be some sort of medicine or ritual for sale as well.
Before we leave this area, BunLong takes me to see a family who makes rice noodles. It's just unbelievable to imagine that people are still making noodles the same way they did thousands of years ago. Rice noodles made the old fashioned way
We've driven an awful long way on a dusty dirt road and in all honesty I have found it all quite under whelming. I'm feeling disappointed that we've wasted the day in this way. I would not recommend this day's tour at all.
We head off in the car to look at Lingas (whatever the heck those are). This was actually interesting. In the 10th Century they literally damned the river to stop the water flow and they built Lingas in the river . #Amazing. There is also a carving of Shiva in the river that is still visible.
Throughout all of our email communications, BunLong has been talking about the waterfall. We are headed there now on the same dusty dirty road.
It's quite a walk to the waterfall. BunLong doesn't accompany me to the waterfall but he tells me that there are two of them. I walk to the first one. It's obvious it's really very popular. Sunday at the waterfall
I head towards the second waterfall but the trail is slippery dirt and very steep and there is no way I am going to attempt to go down there. The last thing I need in the first week of my holiday is to fall and hurt myself on this terrain.
The waterfall wasn't impressive at all. It's good for people watching for sure.
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| The waterfall was popular or photo ops. These costumes are for rent so you can get your photo taken in them. |
The road travelled to/from the waterfall.
We head down the road to our last Temple of the day and what will be the last Temple I see in Cambodia. It is massive. I have only 45 minutes to look around which, at the end of it, was extremely disappointing. I could have totally skipped the Buddha and the waterfall and spent several hours here.
Low and behold, in this last Temple of the day, I spot Patrick from Switzerland whom I toured with on the Mekong Delta,Vietnam. Patrick has got two months and is riding his motorcycle around a few countries. What are the odds of running into him here in a Temple in Cambodia when we met on the Mekong several days back. Patrick and I chat it up for a good 15 minutes or so all the while I am looking at my watch as I know BunLong is waiting for me. We have to leave so that I can get back to my hotel, get cleaned up and eat before he takes me to the airport.
Patrick says he's seen enough of this Temple and we walk out together. I introduce Patrick to BunLong and BunLong offers Patrick a refreshing ice cold lemongrass towel and a bottle of chilled water. Patrick and I say goodbye once again and wonder if we'll run into one another again in Hanoi as our days there will overlap. Who knows. It's a small world indeed.
BunLong drops me at my hotel and says he'll be back at 6:30 PM to take me to the airport. I shower and had better get something to eat as I won't be eating until tomorrow.
Patrick says he's seen enough of this Temple and we walk out together. I introduce Patrick to BunLong and BunLong offers Patrick a refreshing ice cold lemongrass towel and a bottle of chilled water. Patrick and I say goodbye once again and wonder if we'll run into one another again in Hanoi as our days there will overlap. Who knows. It's a small world indeed.
BunLong drops me at my hotel and says he'll be back at 6:30 PM to take me to the airport. I shower and had better get something to eat as I won't be eating until tomorrow.
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| The best cashew chicken I have ever eaten. Ordered from my hotel none-the-less. |
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| My Siem Reap hotel |
BunLong returns at 6:30 PM to take me to the airport. We are only 3 km from the airport when it hits me suddenly that I left my passport at the reception desk of the hotel. I tell BunLong and he says "do you need it?" Yes I need it and I need it to get out of Cambodia and into Vietnam. So we turn the car around and go back to the hotel. That was about an extra 20 minutes or so but we still had plenty of time and I wasn't rushing for the plane (thankfully).
On the way to the airport I see the only sunset I have seen thus far on the trip. It was very nice.
So ends my time in Siem Reap, Cambodia. Overall, I was pleasantly surprised by Cambodia. It wasn't at all what I was envisioning - it was much better. The Temples were mind boggling and the food was delicious. I like the fact that it was easy to find Western food most everywhere. The Cambodian dishes I tried were all very flavourful. I really enjoyed my time in Cambodia. Phnom Penh on the other hand. Something about that city that made my skin crawl. I did not like it and would never go back. It just felt eery and weird to me.
~ The End ~
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