Travel Blog

Angkor What?!

I wish to apologise in advance for the cheesieness of some of the following blog entry. Cambodia just brings it out in me!

I’ve just spent the last week in Cambodia – and what an eye-opener! It all started with a dodgy bus journey (as usual) from Bangkok to Siem Reap in the Northwest of Cambodia. We had heard that the road between these two cities leaves a lot to be desired and although it’s a well worn path for backpackers, it remains in a state thanks to southeast Asian airlines bribing the Cambodian government to not upgrade it. Such cheek and corruption made us want to choose the overland option even more however the night before we left was a Saturday and a Saturday night on the Khao Sahn Rd is not something to be taken lightly. The bus was at a ridiculously early hour and we bumped and bounced our way over the border under scorching heat with no air conditioning. The entire trip took roughly 12 hours. It wasn’t all bad though, once we had crossed into the “Kingdom of Cambodia”, we were treated to miles of stunning scenery involving rivers, rice paddies and some very interesting traffic passing us on the road. One guy had 3 pigs strapped to the front of his little scooter and another scooter contained an entire family of 5! Another good thing about the bus was that we met a very nice group of people on it. There was Bart from Belgium, Leopold from France and Laura & Colin from California. We all ended up staying in the same guesthouse in Siem Reap which made for fun dinner and drinks that night.

The main reason visitors make the journey to Siem Reap is to see the nearby temples of Angkor. The Angkorian period of Cambodia’s history lasted from roughly 9th century to 15th century AD. The area contains over a thousand temples – some extremely impressive while some mere piles of rubble. Temple enthusiasts could easily spend a week here exploring all there is to offer however that’s not what Fi and are so we opted for two days of exploration. For the first of these days we hired a tuk tuk driver for the day. We decided to hit the main famous temples on this day leaving us open for the second day. The first one we visited, Angkor Wat, is the biggest and probably most famous. It is also the most restored temple in the area and served to give an idea of what a whole temple looked like at the time. As Cambodia has only recently opened it’s gates to tourists, the area is not overrun with tourists yet. Sure there are the obligatory Americans and Japanese tour groups but there were so few that by planning your route around the temple carefully you could avoid bumping into them too much. Another benefit of the lack of tourists is that you are allowed to climb all over the temples. You can duck in and out of windows, climb steps at 85 degree angles and swing off pillars to your heart’s content. And that is certainly what we did.

The second temple we visited was Bayon Temple in the ancient city of Angkor Thom. Bayon was completely different to Angkor Wat in that it was much less restored. Even apart from that the design was completely different. It’s difficult to explain but it was sufficiently different that you knew straight away you were in a completely different temple to Angkor Wat. More climbing and acting like nine year olds here. After Bayon we were on to Ta Prohm which again was completely different to the other two temples. This one had been taken over by trees and there were mysterious roots winding their way in and out of all the rooms and around the walls and roofs. This looked like something straight out of Tomb Raider and in fact I think it was this temple that part of Tomb Raider was filmed at. It was certainly one of the Cambodian temples anyway. Unfortunately Angelina was nowhere around. It was getting late in the afternoon at this stage and we were beginning to feel a little templed out so we headed for one more. I can’t remember the name of this one but it was nothing special compared to the three we had just seen. It just confirmed for me that I’m not the temple enthusiast that some people are and so we had a quick look round and called it a day. That night we went for dinner with our little gang that we met on the bus the previous day. Lonely Planet raved and raved about Khmer food (the Khmer being the predominant ethnic group of Cambodia) so we were just dying to try it out. Although it’s not really done to order a few dishes and share them in Cambodia we still did it because we wanted to try a bit or everything. We ordered all sorts of stuff from the menu and wondered why Lonely Planet raved about it and how it could be so much different from Chinese, Indian or Thai food. Oh my God! The best way I can describe it is a mix between Thai and Indian. Some dishes are fried but not at all greasy. Some dishes are yoghurt based but don’t seem too fatty. It’s all-round excellent Asian food that doesn’t leave you going away feeling like you have to eat like a rabbit for the next week. Following the dinner we explored some of Siem Reap’s bar scene. Some of the bars are quite cool including one hilariously named Angkor What? One of the ones we went to had a fun band playing cheesy western hits but unfortunately prositution is prevalent in Cambodia and specifically in Siem Reap. Everywhere I looked that night I could see evidence of it.

The next day we decided we didn’t want to go to any more temples that were like the ones we’d already seen. This led to us taking another rented tuk tuk to a temple 70km outside Siem Reap called Beng Melea. This temple had been recommended to us by a couple we met on Easter Island and (to quote lonely planet) “if you thought Ta Prohm was overgrown, Beng Melea makes it look like they just forgot to mow the lawn”. This statement certainly turned out to be true – the place is completely under seige from the surrounding foliage. Also the fact that it is so far out means there were even less tourists hanging around and for most of the time there we were completely on our own. It also meant there were no Cambodian kids constantly hounding you to buy cold drinks or guide books. We were feeling in a very childish mood so we jumped at the chance to explore this temple to the fullest. There was no real path around or through it like the other temples so you just had to make do with clambering over collapsed parts of it and climbing up vines and walls. After an hour of wandering around we climbed up to the top of the wall that makes up the main body of the temple and walked almost all the way around it. We stopped half way to just lie there in the tropical heat and silence apart from the birds, insects and monkeys. With no other tourists around at that point we could have been at the end of the earth. It certainly didn’t feel like the year 2007 anyway.

Our general plan after Siem Reap was to head for Cambodia’s capital, Phnom Penh. We decided to do this by going via Battambang in the middle of the country and spending a night there. While there is not much going on in Battambang, the reason we went is because we heard the boat trip there from Siem Reap was stunning. It actually did turn out to be stunning (another thumbs up for Cambodia) although because the water was low it took eight hours to get there. It was definitely worth doing and was some of the best scenery I’ve ever seen but if I was doing it again I might try and go for a 3 or 4 hour journey instead. We arrived into Battambang early evening and apart from organising a bus to Phnom Penh for the next morning we didn’t really do a whole lot except for enjoying a delicious Chicken Amok in a great restaurant called the Smokin’ Pot. We arrived in Phnom Penh mid afternoon the following day with a vague plan to spend a few hours in the Tuol Sleng museum. Unfortunately this plan was undermined by the place we were staying. For accommodation in Phnom Penh we had chosen a nice little lakeside guesthouse. It was definitely a bit grotty and run down but the bar was amazing. It consisted of a load of wicker tables and chairs on a decking that was literally IN the lake. The view of the lake from the bar was cool during the day and unbelievable at sunset. Local kids would row up to your seat while you’re sipping a cool bottle of Angkor beer (Angkor is the brand name for absolutely everything in Cambodia) and offer you trips around the lake in your boat. The staff were great fun, there was a pool table and the chef did a mean chicken amok (national dish of Cambodia). Our only worry was that we may never actually be able to leave this haven of relaxation for our entire time in Phnom Penh. We spent the rest of the day drinking beers with an interesting couple who have been travelling the world for two years now with their two kids aged 6 and 9 respectively.

Thankfully the next day we were able to get up and using a tuk tuk driver we headed out to see the Killing Fields. This is a site containing dozens of mass graves where the Khmer Rouge sent prisoners from the Tuol Sleng prison camp to be executed. The graves themselves just look like shallow pits in the ground however what really catch your attention are the strips of clothing and pieces of bone half buried in the ground that are still there from when the prisoners were executed. In addition, a large monument in the centre contains hundreds of skulls behind a glass panel which were excavated from the mass graves. As if this wasn’t depressing enough, we travelled on to the Tuol Sleng museum. This place used to be a high school but was converted into the S-21 prison camp by Pol Pot’s Khmer Rouge regime. We walked around the rooms where prisoners were tortured, interrogated and murdered. We saw the cruel conditions in which they were kept and several of the torture devices used. Some of the rooms contain headshots of many of the prisoners as each one was photographed upon entering the prison camp. Also on display are skulls recovered from the grounds that show gunshot wounds and wounds from being battered. I know it sounds like a depressing day but the actions commited by the Khmer Rouge were more brutal and heinous than those commited by the Nazi regime and it is important that people understand what happened there. We did however head to a nice outdoor bar by the river afterwards to have a drink with our tuk tuk driver to lift our spirits. By the time we arrived back to the guesthouse we were back in good spirits again.

For our final day in Phnom Penh we headed out to an orphanage that we had learned about from the couple staying in our guesthouse. On the way there we purchased a 25kg of rice and a football and hula hoop for the kids. As soon as we pulled into the orphanage we were swamped by dozens of children ranging from 6 to 16 years old. They had big beaming smiles on their faces and were even more delighted when they discovered the gifts we had brought. We were introduced to one of the teachers at the orphanage who took us on a tour and explained a little about how it was set up and how it is run. After that we were allowed to talk to and play with the kids. At first it was a bit disconcerting and we didn’t know where to begin but it wasn’t long before we were playing football, volleyball, basketball and every other game you can think of. The sun was beating down and the children are far more used to it than I am so I was forced to take regular breaks from the activities. During a game of basketball I lifted one of the children up above my head to make a slam dunk which went down a treat. Soon enough all the kids were lining up to get a slam dunk experience with this massive western man who had just turned up. After many hours of playing, the kids were called in for a meal. Their entire diet consists of a bowl of plain boiled rice for breakfast, lunch and dinner which is why the 25kg of rice we brought would be helpful. We decided this would be a convenient point to leave and so we drove out in our tuk tuk with the kids running along behind us shouting goodbyes and waving. It was an extremely rewarding experience and it felt great to be able to help the children in a way you know they are benefiting from it. Unfortunately there are a lot of children in Cambodia begging for money and trying to sell you books. While it is often very difficult to refuse their pleading eyes it is worth remembering that more often than not, any money they get goes straight to their parents and they get none of it. Therefore by going to the orphanage we could be sure we were helping in a way that would directly benefit the children. It was also a refreshingly uplifting day following our tour of the killing fields and prison camp the day before. That day was our last full one in Cambodia and it marked the end of a week of my life that I’ll never forget. Despite everything that has happened in Cambodia in the last 30 years, the people are so friendly and fun and full of life. At the risk of sounding cheesy it just shows the power of the human spirit.