Cambodia Trip Report

Wednesday January 29

Flew into Siam Reap airport from Saigon on Vietnam Airlines. Went thru customs and got our visas which cost $20USD. Not a big airport at all. We found our guide and driver and we were off! Stopped at the Bangkok Air office on the way into town to verify our tickets out in 5 days to Bangkok, we booked online and they said it was mandatory to confirm once you got into Siam Reap. Our guide's name is Dara, he is the brother of a guide that was recommended on the Fodor's travelboard. She wasn't available so she suggested him. Her email is ponheary@yahoo.com. He is a very patient, pleasant guide(especially with Neil's picture taking). We drove to our hotel, the Borann *insert website/email*. It had tradional Khymer houses. I believe it's run by a Frenchman who works for a nonprofit organization here. Two of the guys at the desk are missing a leg and another looks like he has a major spinal problem, they all speak English and are very helpful and nice. Our room is nice, basic but clean with nice traditional furniture. Had lunch at the hotel, and then we drove real quick thru Siam Reap to see how big the town is. We then went towards the temples of Angkor Wat. We stopped off and got our passes for the week which cost $60 each (in dollars).  Dara said he like to start the tours of the temples off with the smaller ones. We went to Prasat Kravan, Preah Rup, and then Banteay Kdei for sunset. For dinner we went to the La Noria Hotel for dinner and a shadow puppet show put on by one of the orphanages, and cost $6. Was neat to see and the kids seems to be enjoying themselves. The only problem with our hotel is that is not on a main road, and the small lane leading to it has no lights.

Thursday January 30

Got up early, had breakfast at our hotel(not included) which was good. Drove out east of Siam Reap to the Roulos Group of temples. We went to Lolei, Preah Ko, and to Bakong. Bakong was by far the most impressive, it is an early temple of the Khymer Civilization. Went back for our midday siesta around 11am. We are going back out at 2pm again, much more convienent. Neil found a Fuji minilab about 2 blocks from our hotel. He said it would rival anything in the states. Going to get our digital camera memory cards put onto a compact disk. So we can take all the pictures we want. He got all the memory cards emptied for $7.00. Film is a little less expensive than at home. Only thing they don't have at this shop is an extra battery for the digital camera! Developing is less also(in retrospect, should have had most of it developed there). There is a couple internet places across from the Minilab, plus a place for laundry. Internet phone was $0.50 per minute. Internet access was about 300 Real ($0.75) for 15 minutes. By the way, the "unofficial" currency is US Dollars. Our hotel, guides, Angkor passes, dinners, etc have been paid in US Dollars. If you are to get change, you get change in Cambodia Real.  Our guide said that about 1 million visitors came to Siam Reap/Angkor Wat in 2002. More than that are expected this year(2003).

In the afternoon we went to Angkor Wat temple itself. Lots and lots of tourists there, especially large number of tour buses. Wandered around the entrance area and walked up the long causeway to the temple and towers. We took some pictures and went and looked at the Bas Relief's that encircle the whole temple. It is carved in stone and depicts different scenes from the Khymer history(battles) and Hindu Mythology. We climbed the extremely steep steps to the second level were amazed by the hugeness of the temple. We climbed down and took some more pictures. Dara has had lots of patience with Neil taking pictures. We drove back into Siam Reap and relaxed a bit before dinner. We went to the Arun Restaurant, a Thai restaurant, next to the La Noria. Not real expensive but very good.

Friday, January 31

Good breakfast again, got an early start at 7:00am to get ahead of the crowds at Angkor Thom(the city at Angkor). The gates of the city are amazing. We went to the Bayon temple inside of Angkor Thom. Dara is so knowledgeable about everything here that he has so much to tell us about all of the carvings and bas reliefs. We saw the bas reliefs and climbed up and through the temple. This is the temple with all of the heads facing north, east, south, and west. Some smiling and some with a subdued expression, there are over 200 "faces" in the temple. Neil took sooo many pictures today at Bayon. After roaming around the temple for over 2 hours, we then we walked to Prasat Suor Prat, Preah Palilay, and the elephant terrace. It was getting very hot, about 11am. We went back for the break again. Today we went to the Bayon 2 restaurant about 4 blocks down from our hotel. Was ok, more geared for tour groups.  We sent some emails, stopped off at the camera shop again, and then went to the hotel to hit the pool and relax. We went in the afternoon to Ta Prohm, also known as the "jungle temple". This one has not been restored or "put back together" by archaelogists. It is broken down in parts, trees growing out of/thru the walls. Collapsed arches and doorways. Really the type of temple that if you were wandering thru the jungle would have found back two hundred years ago. We walked into the temple and there was a band playing on the way in, they were all land mine victims. All of the small Cambodian currency that we got, ended up going to people outside temples and in the town. We took a route thru the temple that Dara says doesn't duplicate your steps very much. We spent at least 2 hours meandering thru the temple. Amazing place. The best so far. We saw a old man sweeping up, he lives just outside the back of the temple. He is the man on the cover of the Lonely Planet Guidebook. Took innumerous pictures. I had a problem with the flash card on the digital camera. Lost 2/3 of the pictures taken, Dara said we can come back here another day. Would like to maybe in the morning to see it in a different angle of light, maybe less people? Next we went to Ta Keo for a quick stop, we were tired and it was hot, so we didn't climb up to the top. We crossed over the Siam Reap river and there was a group of children packed on a small tractor flatbed going to the river for bathtime, they seemed to be having fun. Next we stopped at the Chapel of the Hospital and the Spean Thma across the road. Every place we stop it seems we are bombarded with people(mainly children) wanting to sell us stuff. Neil has a bunch of tee-shirts now, Mike seems to resist them somehow. I have bought some little knickknack items, tablecloths, etc. Dara wanted to take us up to a hill to overlook Angkor wat, the plains/jungle, and to see the sunset. The hike up was fairly steep, it was hot, and lots and lots of people doing exactly the same thing we were. We found a couple spots to take pictures and watched the sun go mostly down. We decided to go down before everyone else to beat the mad rush out. We drove back into Siam Reap to our hotel to relax for a while. We took  motorbike taxi(s) to the downtown area to look around and eat dinner. We found a book store to exchange some books, and internet place, and went to eat at the Red Piano. Great atmosphere, Tiger Beer on tap, and the food was real good too. Cost was about $40 for all 3 of us, including plenty of Tiger Beer.

Saturday February 1,

We got up early and left at 7am to drive to Banteay Srei. It is one of the more remote temples, about a 45 minute drive. Dara was telling us on the way that up until 5 years ago, this temple still had land mines in it. It also wasn't safe to come to this one unless you had armed guards. The Khymer Rouge still had pockets in the area that would rob, kidnap, or kill tourists. On the way we talked with Dara about the Khymer Rouge and the "killing fields". He is my age exactly and is very short and thin. He was a child when the Khymer Rouge killed over 3 million of their fellow countrymen/women. The Khymer Rouge(communists) killed anyone educated, intelligent who would oppose them in the present or future. Dara's father was rounded up and taken away when he was very little. He never came back. Dara wasn't emotional or bitter, "it's just the way that it is", he said . The thing is here that people are looking forward, not back, and tourism is one of the things that will improve this country. Stability in government is where Dara said that it needs to start, and since 1998 it has been stable. One of the men who works at the desk at our hotel is missing a leg, and he has tatoo's around his head, signifying his membership in the army at one time.  We got to Banteay Srei and there was only a few people entering, lot less tourists. It is made out of pink sandstone and has some of the most intricate carvings of all the Angkor temples. Not very large compared to the other temples, but fascinating. Dara wanted to take us to the mountain where the stones were quarried, and the aqueduct, but it was hot already and decided to skip it. We stopped at Bante Samre on the way back into Siam Reap. It was another interesting temple, it was restored in the past, but has fallen into disrepair recently. It is somewhat isolated, but if you go to Banteay Srei, is not far out of the way. Drove back into Siam Reap and Dara asked if we wanted to go to the Artisan School. It is called *insert school and website*. We saw the students that are taught stone carving, wood carving, lacquerware, etc. They have a huge store of pieces that were made by the students. We baught a lacquerware piece with dancing apsaras and a stone carved head of one of the Godesses , Mike bought a small one of the same lacquerware piece.  I saw a wood carved praying monk called an Orant that was really nice. We went back to the hotel and had lunch. We had a long break today, and after thinking it over sending email and calling home decided to get it. Neil & I took a mototaxi back to the school and got it. We also stopped and bought a "north face" duffle bag for all of the stuff we bought. After the break we drove back Angkor and went to the temple called Preah Khan. This is a temple that is currently being restored by the World Monuments Foundation(WMF), and was extensively damaged by the jungle and time.  Endless hallways give an interesting effect when you are walking through. Dara waited for Neil to take pictures again, he is very patient and points out the good spots to take them! Kiri (our driver) picked up at a different entrance to save time and walking. We then stopped at Krol Ko, Neak Pean, and Ta Som to finish out the afternoon. We also bought some more items from the persistent local children. Hard to say no. Dara booked us for a dinner and tradional dance show. It was very humid and the air still, Neil & Mike were sweating just sitting. The buffet was good and the show interesting. We went to the internet and photolab for more pictures burned onto disk.

Sunday February 2,

We got an early start today, 7am. Yesterday Dara had asked us which temples we wanted to revisit, since we've seen almost everything. Although I must say that we are not sick of seeing the temples and ruins yet. We went to Bayon early, less people. Got some great pictures, Neil wanted to drive out to east gate(about 2km down a small road). Was nobody there and was definately unique, overgrown and such. We went then back to Angkor Thom, the jungle temple. Were very few people today, good for taking pictures without anyone in the shot. We saw the old man of the temple sweeping again. This is by far the favorite one of them for all of us. We stopped at the land mine museum on the way back into town. It was pretty depressing, but glad we saw it. Several children missing legs and part of feet live there-I think they are orphans. The museum is run by a man who helps remove land mines and set up the musuem to raise awareness and money for removal. We passed by a huge orphanage today going into town run by the French, it looked nice. We've seen many Non Govermental Organizations(NGO's) here such as Doctors Without Borders, Red Cross, and the Halo Trust which removes land mines. We had a long break today, we went into town to look around at the market and had lunch at the Ivy Bar. Dara had been asking us all week if we wanted to go to Tonle Sap lake, we finally decided to go. It is the lake in the middle of Cambodia, it changed size by up to 50% every year, it is the backup/flooding of the Mekong River that makes it larger. We had been seeing Cambodia thru rose colored glasses, Siam Reap is actually quite nice. I think we saw the real Cambodia this afternoon, it looked like the commercials you see for Sally Struther's save the children campaign. It was pretty bad. Huts along the roads(the road was horrible once we got off the paved part), and naked children under 3 to 4 years old. We had brought our sandals that we had bought in Vietnam to wear in our hotel room, so we thought we would give them away and not throw them away. We gave them to some kids at the end of the boat trip and the boy who got Neil's literally jumped up and down for joy. I gave mine to a girl and some scarves to some other girls. I felt bad I didn't have any food to give them, they had their hands out. They weren't starving though, and Dara said it was best not to give food to kids or money. The lake really smelled when we first got on the boat, fortunately it got better when we got out of the backwater. the people live on boats and small houses floating on bamboo. We even saw pigs living on floating pens-their waste goes into the water. I was real thrilled when a passing boat splashed water on me. Mike had a lever wipe I could wipe off with, but my shirt and shorts were still pretty wet. After that Neil & Mike didn't want me real close to them.  Thank god it didn't get into my mouth. We road out to where the edge of the real lake starts to a restaurant and zoo on stilts. We headed back and had the boat stall on the way back for about 15 minutes. Thought we might be out there for a while....  We drove back in and it was dark when we got into town. We paid Dara(our guide) and Kiri(our driver) and gave them a nice tip on top of the total. The guide was $20 per day and the van/driver $30 per day. Our total came to $235 since we had to pay extra to got to a few of the outlying temples. Gas is about $2.60 here, so it is pretty expensive, especially for the Cambodians. They are going to bring us to the airport in the morning. Our driver, Kiri who is a doctor, drives during the day and works at the hospital in the evenings or at night. We ate at the Red Piano again and all had Lok Lak for $2.50. It is beef with garlic, tomatoes, and onions, and it was delicious. The Red Piano was frequented by the cast and crew of Tomb Raider when they were filming here a few years ago. The Tiger Beer on tap was again refreshing in the hot weather.

Monday February 3,

Dara and Kiri took us to the airport today, we fly from Siam Reap to Bangkok on Bangkok Air, and then from Bangkok to Krabi on Thai. Said goodbye to them at the airport, would highly recommend them both.