July 12-15, 2007 -- Nathan got a scholarship to study Thai in Bangkok for 3 months, so we decided that we would go to visit Angkor Wat in Cambodia as a side trip while we were in Thailand. We decided that we would go like backpackers since it seemed pretty safe there. We took a bus from Bangkok to Poi Pet border and applied for the visa-on-arrival there to enter the country. It was totally a scam at the border since the immigration officers over-charged us for the visa. It was stamped $20 on the visa, but they wanted 1000 Baht or about $30 in cash. If we didn't pay the amount, we would have to wait forever. Nathan and I didn't want any trouble, so we paid the full amount.
After the hassle at immigration, we looked for a bus to Siem Reap, but there wasn't any bus visible around there. There were also hundreds of touts trying to sell their services and numerous desperate beggars asking for money and stuff. We were overwhelmed with all the hassles, so we agreed to jump into a private cab, which, of course, was really over-priced, to Siem Reap.
It was the worst ride ever! It took about 3 hours on a winding, bumpy road, and we were desperate to get to the destination. People there seem not to care about the traffic rules and drive in every direction. All the cars seemed to come from all over the world since the driver's seat could be on either the left or the right side of the car. Well, we will never want to drive there.
Once we got to our hotel, which Nathan found using info from his Lonely Planet book, we were so happy that we made it safely to town!
The next morning we decided to first go to the Angkor Wat, the most popular tourist spot in Siem Reap. We hired a local Tuk Tuk (a three-wheel motorcycle taxi) driver to take us around for the whole day.
Angkor Wat is located in a large area, so walking around wouldn't be possible. The landscape is very pretty, but I think the architecture of the temple isn't very impressive since there isn't much wall painting, pole carving or other art.
Nathan climbed the steep steps to the top of Angkor Wat and got a few good shots inside and outside of the temple. I didn't feel like climbing, so I just waited on the ground.
There are a lot of reliefs of Apsarases (female angels) on the wall around the temple, and I just imitated the way they dance.
After touring around Angkor Wat, our Tuk Tuk driver took us to Angkor Thom. I loved the beautiful bridge and the gate there.
My favorite part of Angkor Thom is the Bayon. It is very pretty but can be a scary and mysterious spot at night since you feel like someone is watching you all the time. The Bayon contains 200 faces with mysterious glances looking in all directions. They are huge stone faces of the bodhisattva Avalokiteshvara.
My second favorite spot is Ta Prohm. Ta Prohm is extensively ruined, but there is the most famous spot with trees growing over buildings that most people have seen in the Hollywood movie Tomb Raider.
On our second day in Siem Reap we went to Tonle Sap Lake, the largest fresh water lake in Cambodia. The ride to the lake was fascinating. We saw a lot of poor people living in a tiny shack that had nothing but a real nice TV! It's interesting that TV seems to be such a big part of Cambodian life that nothing else seems to matter.
The lake itself isn't impressive to me, but the people's life around the lake is interesting. There were a lot of Vietnamese living around the lake, fishing and running small businesses. I love the floating school houses and churches. Life there seems pretty easy-going and peaceful.
The only complaint I have about the lake tour is that the boat driver asked for ridiculous tips from us. I normally like to tip good service, but it's unprofessional to ask for a big tip from a customer.
Since we had time left, Nathan and I asked our Tuk Tuk driver to take us to Banteay Srei. It is a little out of the way, so we had to pay extra to go there, but it's really worth the trip.
Banteay Srei is our most favorite place of the entire Angkor trip. It consists of a lot of well-preserved carvings on red sandstone buildings. It is said that the reliefs on this temple are so delicate that they could only have been carved by the hand of a woman.
After Banteay Srei, we made a stop at the Cambodian Landmine Museum. It is very sad to see a lot of landmines during the time of the Khmer Rouge and to know that a lot of people died or lost their limbs from this tragedy. The story about Aki Ra trying to clear these weapons from the land around the Angkor is also amazing.
Let's talk about food in Cambodia a little. Nathan and I really like the food there. We tried to be like local people, went to local restaurants instead of the tourist-trap ones and ate what local people eat. The food was pretty clean, and we never had any diarrhea while staying there. Thumbs up for the food!
After two full days wandering around Siem Reap, Nathan and I hired a different Taxi driver to drive us back to the border because the previous one over-charged us. We got to the border safely on the road from hell. I bought some snacks to give to poor kids at the border, but that was the biggest mistake because they were fighting like a mob to get the treats, and I was almost hurt.
Well, overall the trip was ok. After calculating the amount of money we spent traveling as backpackers (for the first time), we came to a conclusion that it would be better to go with a tour from Thailand. We would have slept in a nicer hotel, eaten better, and most of all gotten better transportation.
