It’s a Holiday in Cambodia

We have had Angkor Wat on our places to visit for a very long time.  During our early years together we didn’t even know about Angkor Wat.  When “Cambodia’ was mentioned you thought of US bombings or Pol Pot, the Khmer Rouge, and the Killing Fields.  But with a stable government installed in the early 90’s things began to change.  And then they really changed when Angelina Jolie filmed part of Tomb Raider here.  Living in Singapore this was a “must do” as it is only a 2-hour flight.

We use the “budget” airlines on trips here, primarily Jet Star and Air Asia.  As with all budget airlines they charge for just about everything.  Are you checking a bag?  How much does it way? 10kg, 20kg, 25kg?  Even if you had a scale who knows how much your bag is going to weigh in advance of the trip (or on the return after buying “stuff”).  We usually go for the 20kg for our roll-aboards in advance (you save if you buy it while purchasing your ticket). 

The other thing we spring for is extra legroom seating. I’m 6’6”/1.98m so regular seats are a little tight.  Our first time flying them to Ho Chi Minh City we got assigned these seats on our return flight by a lovely gate agent at no charge. We have also learned that the front row seats have the additional that you are the first on and OFF the plane which can save a lot of time at immigration if there are multiple arrivals.

We arrived at Siem Reap airport and were first down the air stairs (no jetways here!).  We had done our e-visas in advance and were glad we did as there was a line at the Visa On Arrivals counter.  Quickly through immigration we picked up our bags, cleared customs, and headed for the exit.  There we found our driver holding our name and headed to a nearby mobile counter.

One of the things that we have learned while traveling is the advantages of buying a local SIM card for your phone.  (Now this doesn’t work on US phones that are “locked” until you have fully paid for them and gone through the typically troublesome process to unlock the phone with your carrier.)  We have spent anywhere from $8 to $20 USD for our stays depending on the country and how long we are staying.  Cambodia was the cheapest at $4 for 4 days, unlimited data.  Couple these chips with WhatsApp and your communication is covered.

Our hotel ( Chateau de Angkor La Residence) was a French colonial building in the old quarter of Siem Reap.  We had a two bedroom two bath apartment with a kitchen and large living room, albeit with VERY HARD seating for 4 people.  No elevators meant we walked up lots of stairs, but luckily they brought our bags to the room for us.   The living room had French doors that opened to a small balcony overlooking the pool.  All for about $100 per night including breakfast.

That night we walked to the tourist area for dinner, Pub Street.  Walking in a third-world country is never as easy or quick as Google says and this time was no different.  Sidewalks went from good to broken up to nonexistent in the same block.  Part of the time you walk on the road, other times you pick your way over chunks of concrete.  But we got there safe and sound.

With a name like Pub Street we expected something like Patong in Phuket Thailand, which I would describe as a Bourbon Street meets the beach—not our cup of tea.  Pub Street had bars and restaurants, but for us early birds they were fine.  The design of the places was a little eclectic.  Narrow alleys were filled with little hole in the wall places.

We had been told about one place, Miss Wongs, that looked very cool and was known for its cocktails, but at 6pm, it was empty.  We ended up at a restaurant called Temple Club.  It is on a corner of the main street of Pub Street and had comfortable chairs, good food, cheap drinks (by any standards, not just Singapore’s), and a great playlist.  We walked home (Julie really doesn’t like walking on third world sidewalks) and got to bed early as our alarms were set for 3:55am for sunrise at Angkor Wat.

Morning came quickly and we met up with our guide, Chann, and climbed into the van that would be taking us around.  First stop was to buy tickets for the temples.  Its set up quite well, the ticket place is on the edge of town with plenty of parking and Chann led us right to the ticket counter.  I was a little surprised that they took Visa (but glad they did at $67USD for a 3-day pass).  They also took your picture and printed it on the tickets to prevent them from being resold.

After a short drive we climbed out of our van and walked along the outside of the moat.  Chann pointed on our left the remnants of a wall that had been around a French colonial hotel where the archeologists had stayed.  It was destroyed in the civil war of the early 80’s.  We were not the only ones here and many hurried inside to see the sunrise over the main temple.  Chann kept us outside along the moat to watch it rise over all of Angor Wat.

And what a sunrise it was.  It quickly went from almost pitch black to the silhouettes of the five towers of Angor Wat appearing in the distance.  The sky filled with colors and the temple was reflected on the moat in front of us.  Finally, the sun appeared, rising to the right of the towers.  We waited for about 15 minutes for those that came to just see the sunrise to leave so we could enjoy the inside of the temple grounds with fewer people.

Walking across the moat on a floating bridge, we were at the western gates of the temple.  There you could see bullet holes from the civil war when Pol Pot’s army was on the inside and the Vietnamese army was on the outside.  Today the inside is mostly tourists with some occasional monkeys.

There are 5 towers at Angkor Wat, but if you look at the Cambodian flag you see only  three.  Walking towards the main temple from the west you see why.  The forced perspective put the two towers at the back behind the two in the front.  This may be the only time that an optical illusion has made it onto a country’s flag.

Chann was a great guide in that he led us to where people had been, not where they were going.  The effect was that it never seemed crowded even when it was.  He also knew all of the great photo opportunities and would say “stand here and take a picture of the reflection in the water”.   The results of our photos speak to his suggestions.

We finished our visit to Angkor Wat by climbing to the highest level of the temple where we could see in all directions.  You realize what a flat country Cambodia is from the few high points.  The galleries at this level also had religious sculptures, many missing their heads as a result of Pol Pot’s regime.  Humankind is often not very kind.

Back in our van for a short ride to Ta Phrom, the temple made famous by Lara Croft Tomb Raider.  This temple is very different than Angkor Wat.  As you approach the temple from the parking area (and the requisite hawkers—here is a nice story) you walk down a wide path/road into the jungle.  All of a sudden you come upon the temple, itself almost part of the jungle.

The sandstone blocks of the temple are stacked without any sort of mortar.  When the trunks and roots of trees grow they nudge these blocks so everything is slightly askew.  Even the bas relief figures carved into stones don’t quite align. The kapok trees are now an integral part of this temple.

One of the carvings sure looked like a brontosaurus!

Diner that night was at a pizza place off Pub Street.  Rather than walk we spent the $2 USD for a tuk-tuk.  My first real exposure to tuk tuk was in Mumbai several years ago and every country seems to have its own style of tuk-tuk.  India’s are different than Thailand’s (see our tuk tuk adventure in Bangkok) that are different than Cambodia.  Cambodia’s are more like a trailer attached to a motorcycle.  Quick and efficient, and getting more so with Grab’s new service in Phnom Penh. 

Motorcycles are a way of life in Cambodia, much like Vietnam.  We saw something here that we haven’t seen—motorcycle trailers.  The trailers are larger than you would expect and used for delivery.  I can’t imagine what it would be like to navigate one of these rigs, but the driver/drivers do it effortlessly.

The next day we headed to Banteay Srei Temple which is known for its pink sandstone construction.  It was built in the 10^th century and the carvings are still vivid in their details.  The drive to the temple was about 45 minutes and went through rural villages that had only received electricity in the last year.  Cambodia is still an emerging country.

Our last Cambodian temple was Pre Rup.  Pre Rup stands apart from others in the area as it is the highest one around.  It’s a good place to view sunsets, but we were tired and decided to skip (Chann told us it would probably be overcast and we readily agreed).  The views in the afternoon were worth the climb up the steps (Julie felt better when she discovered the steep steps were not the only way up and there was a wooden stairway on the side with handrails.

Pre Rup means “turn the body” in Khmer and archaeologists speculate that this served as a crematorium.  As we stood in an annex to the main temple, you could almost smell the smoke and ash.

Cambodia was our second to last Southeast Asia country to visit (only Laos remains).  It’s an easy place to visit with many locals speaking passable English, prices are usually quoted in USD, and there is so much to see.  The country is still recovering from the genocide of almost 40 years ago and will be for generations to come, but the warmth and resilience of the people can’t be missed.