Siem Reap and Ankor Wat
Our border crossing was an eye opener to the openly corrupt
practices to be found in Asia. This was behind us now as we were treated to the
best service we have had anywhere in Asia (besides Baan Pictory) Welcome drinks
were provided while we checked in and we were taken to our second floor room.
It was as clean as a whistle and had a really comfy bed. All of the staff
acknowledged us every time we passed and had something to say in English.. ie
‘where do you come from sir?’ ‘did you enjoy your trip’ dah de dah . It was
obvious they were keen to interact and to try out their English skills. As per
usual we unpacked a bit and went out on the town to get orientated. We were
right in the main street, in this posh looking but within budget hotel, and
outside was chaos. People, cars, motorbikes and cyclos, all asking us if we
wanted a ride. Our preference has always been to walk so we politely refused
and walked on the road as the footpaths were blocked by cars, motorbikes,
people and cyclos. We quickly found the night market and lots of restaurants
and a street called ‘pub street’. This is the first time we have seen such a
lot of European tourists, and now lots of Russian travellers. They are like a
kid with a new toy now they have discovered how good capitalism is. Hasn’t
changed their demeanour though, grumpy lot. Bar staff were outside touting for
business as we read every menu on the street before deciding where to eat. 2
for one cocktails did the trick. We’ll eat here she says. J After the meal we went into the night market
area and met two lovely girls who looked about 11, who were trying to sell us
jewellery. One had excellent English and we found out she was 16 and had to
leave school as her parents couldn’t afford to pay. She worked in this shop
until 11pm then slept in a cupboard on a mattress, wearing layers of clothes to
protect from the mosquitos, until daylight when she biked home. She got
commission on any sale. Yeah, you got it… we fell for the sob story and paid $5
for a $2 pair of earrings. She was so cute though.
Next morning we had a late breakfast, which was awesome and
free, and walked for an hour or two to see the town. Too hot to continue we
stopped for an iced coffee, one of Caths new craves, and then flagged down a
tuk-tuk driver to give us a city tour. He convinced us to visit the museum so
we spent half an hour or so there and he dropped us back at the hotel. We had a
swim in the pool and went out for dinner again. I like this place. It has a
nice feel about it, a vibrancy not seen in many places, and the night lights
are almost like xmas. Next day we booked a tour to the floating villages. Only
three of us in a mini van plus a guide and driver. The other chap was a nice
young Korean bloke who was helping to provide water to outlying villages via an
NGO organisation. You will need to see the pictures to see the state these
people in the floating villages live in. They move houses in the dry season by
towing them and anchoring them in the huge 300km long lake. The Vietnamese and
the Cambodians have separate ‘villages’ on the lake complete with shops and
schools and even a floating basketball court. In the wet season when the trees
were almost under water their houses were tied to the tops.
We left the van and boarded a boat at a ramp where twenty
other boats were being boarded. Bloody tourists. We had a boat to ourselves and
for this tour the beer and food was included. Our aim was to see the floating
villages and see the sunset, have a meal, and return to the van. The trip down
river was slow but interesting as all of the local fishermen were returning
with their catch in all sorts of craft. Some looked rather unseaworthy. The
channel was really low and the deep part was being fought over by the coming
and going boats, some actually touching our boat as they went past. Lots got
stuck on the mud, including us, and the guide would push us off with a pole
like in Venice, or climb over and manually shove the boat off. It was only knee
deep. The engine had a long shaft out the back which had the propeller at the
end and it entered the water under its own weight. So it would sit on the mud
just two or three feet down and churn it up and move us forward. As the water
got shallower the prop was half out of the water and sprayed it everywhere and
was therefore less effective in propelling us forward. I thought one of our jet
boats would change their lives forever, but then I figured it would just suck
up the mud and stop, so that wouldn’t work. As we exited the channel and made
our way slowly out to the villages we were approached by Vietnamese refugees in
small boats which had a small child on board that had a huge snake wrapped
around its neck. Take a picture and pay a US$.... yeah right. That’s begging,
my camera can take pictures by voice command so I got my pictures all right.
The look in their eyes as they asked for money was really haunting. A few
little kids even came out to us in round wash basins, coracles? We saw a
crocodile farm and saw a demonstration of the fish catching methods used and
the history of the lake and how it benefits the Mekong. Next stop was a
floating school/orphanage. The kids were all in uniform and seemed happy to be
educated. None of them had parents or family, mostly rounded up as street kids.
We then churned our way through the mud to the floating restaurant and had a
nice meal on the deck as the sun went down. Fabulous photo opportunity. A few
beers later we motored off to find the entrance to the channel and back to the
dock. No lights other than a $2 torch and my camera spotlight app. Small boats
whizzed past really close and every time I used my light to show our location,
millions of bugs immediately flew around my hand. No light, no bugs, where do
they come from so quickly? If I shut the phone case I squashed twenty or so
each time. A great experience as we finally made it back to the van to be
delivered to the hotel.
Next morning we were on another trip. This time to the
famous Temples of Ankor Wat.
We were picked up by our guide and a driver for the temple
tour. One advantage of having a guide is we were ushered into areas normally
off limits to tourists and went in the back way to avoid the crowds. All
temples were within a 10 minute car ride of each other and all were different.
The major attraction, Ankor Wat, was stunning with heaps of history of
occupation and restoration. The most picturesque was the one used in the
filming of ‘Tom Raiders’. Words can’t describe what we were looking at. You
will need to see the pictures we posted on Fb. It was really hot during the
visits and it was nice to get back into an air-conditioned car and a cold
bottle of water. We really enjoyed our day which was finished off with a swim
and a cocktail and then an evening meal on ‘pub street’.
Next day we flew to Saigon………..
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